Construction minister Mark Prisk has said the government will reduce the number of hoops that developers must jump through before beginning construction

Prisk was responding to a review into non-planning development consents carried out by Adrian Penfold, British Land’s head of planning. He said the coalition would implement a “one in, one out” approach, whereby a new regulation could only be introduced if an old one were scrapped. Other regulations will be reviewed, with an update to be published in the spring.

Prisk said: “We must stop putting obstacles in the way of British businesses. They will be the driving force behind our economic growth.”

Penfold’s recommendation for conservation area consent to be merged in with the planning system has been accepted, as well as merging various water consents in to the Environmental Permitting framework.

However, the government has rejected his call for the separate regimes for listed buildings and scheduled monuments to be combined. The government’s response said: “In the absence of legislation to create a new heritage protection system, we will work with English Heritage to ensure that the existing heritage consent regimes operate as effectively and efficiently as possible.”