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ARTICLE · 23 APRIL 2026

Project Nutcracker: Eight Ideas Adopted By Government. What Next?

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
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Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

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Catherine Howard reviews eight planning reform ideas from her Project Nutcracker series now adopted by Government, comments on other proposals which have unsurprisingly had less mileage, and considers what comes next...

United KingdomGovernment, Public Sector
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard
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I've been writing about planning reform for over two years now. It's been a surprise to see how widely my articles have been read and how many of my ideas picked up, amplified by readers, and adopted by Government. A big thank you to everyone, including to my local MP, Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook, and his incredibly hard-working team at MHCLG (Alicia Ford, Suzie Wilson, Anna Payne and their colleagues) who made changes to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill late in the day to accommodate many of these proposals.

So here, in summary, are the eight Nutcracker ideas which have now made it into law or policy, with a reminder of why they'll make a difference.

Calling out ideas with less mileage is also an important part of the Nutcracker mission. I say a few words about the development consent order (DCO) "fast-track" and reform of judicial review in this context.

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