This may include “parallel running of systems for a time-limited period”, according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, which said that it will consider “the most effective, and least disruptive” approach to transitioning.
It is hoped that EORs will streamline the assessment process with a new “outcomes-based approach”, shifting focus from potential impacts to supporting the delivery of environmental objectives.
The move follows a 12-week consultation process back in 2023, the results of which were only published last week.
ISEP, which provided a key input into the consultation, called for clear guidance and increased capacity and skills support, as well as a well-resourced regulator. Director of policy and public affairs Signe Norberg said: “The government’s overdue response to the EORs consultation does provide some initial clarity over the direction and next steps for the proposed reforms.
“However, it is essential that this new system builds on the strengths of the EIA and strategic environmental assessments, which has been the cornerstone of the UK planning system for decades. To succeed, it is also vital that the system is supported by clear guidance, increased capacity and skills support, a greater focus on monitoring and enforcement through well-resourced regulators.
“Without these important measures alongside the policy change, it will create uncertainty for industry and further delay the important outcomes that we are all trying to achieve.”
In its response to the EORs consultation, ISEP called on the government to:
1) Maintain robust environmental protections: While EORs offer an opportunity for improvement, their implementation must avoid diluting protections or creating loopholes that undermine sustainability.
2) Address capacity and skills shortages: Without sufficient investment in training, resources, and skills, the reforms risk delays, inconsistent application, and reduced environmental oversight.
3) Evidence-based decision-making: Current proposals lack sufficient detail on how environmental outcomes will be measured, monitored, and enforced, creating risks of legal uncertainty and reduced confidence among stakeholders.
4) Enhance public participation and transparency: Any move to streamline processes should strengthen opportunities for public engagement, access to environmental information, and safeguard routes for legitimate environmental and social-based challenges to decisions.
5) Integrate climate change and biodiversity targets: EORs must explicitly align with the UK’s legal commitments on net zero, biodiversity net gain (BNG), and other international sustainability targets.
6) Strengthen monitoring and accountability: Including independent oversight and a national database to support transparency, knowledge-sharing, and adaptive management of EORs.
The government said that BNG, habitats regulations and Environmental Delivery Plans will sit outside the EOR assessment framework for now, but that it will look to combine or align data gathering and monitoring requirements over time.
Norberg added: "We stand ready to support the government in delivering a new system which maintains robust environmental protections, delivers the outcomes on the ground and improves the overall planning process.”
Image credit: Shutterstock
Chris Seekings is the Deputy Editor of ISEP’s Transform magazine, which is published biomonthly for ISEP members. Chris’s role involves writing sustainability-related news, features and interviews, as well as helping to plan and manage the magazine’s other day-to-day activities.
