The BCC is pleased to receive this letter from the Business Secretary, the Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP earlier this week.
The input we feed into the government from firms in the Chamber membership is absolutely vital to making the case for change. The voice of businesses is being heard.
These reforms are long overdue and should bring more balance to the planning system.
The have the potential to speed up large-scale infrastructure development, while still ensuring legal protection for valid opposition, and are a victory for common sense.
Investment in projects like Sizewell C provides huge benefits, not only through its vital power generation capacity but also the ripple effects it has for the regional economy. Thousands of SMEs will be involved in the supply chain.
These changes will also help address the issue of runaway costs for infrastructure projects.
These occur because they get bogged down in the courts and take too long to get off the ground.
But the acid test will now be whether they can deliver economic growth in the real-world for businesses and local communities.
We look forward to continuing to work with government to make that happen.
