The government has now set the start date for a broad package of planning reforms. A new commencement order made on 18 December 2025 activates selected parts of the Levelling‑up and Regeneration Act 2023 and the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, with most measures applying in England from 18 February 2026. The instrument is listed as SI 2025/1370 on legislation.gov.uk.

For compulsory purchase, the toolkit tightens from both ends of the process. The content required in newspaper notices is simplified, while the general vesting declaration procedure gains two faster routes: an expedited option where land is unoccupied or ownership is unknown, and an advancement‑by‑agreement route. These took effect the day after the instrument was made, with further CPO adjustments following on 18 February 2026 and transitional rules to avoid mid‑process disruption. For developers and councils, that points to shorter vesting lead times and less programme risk once pre‑conditions are met.

Local authorities also gain the ability to confirm a compulsory purchase order subject to conditions before powers can be exercised, aligning ministerial and non‑ministerial processes. In practice, conditional confirmation can keep regeneration schemes moving while funding, design or mitigation conditions are discharged, but it will put pressure on promoters to evidence deliverability earlier in the timetable. Expect acquisition strategies and heads of terms to be rewritten to reflect the new gates to vesting.

Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects see policy clarity built into the system. From 18 February 2026, National Policy Statements must undergo full reviews on a regular cycle of at least every five years, with an additional parliamentary route for material updates. Sponsors should map project milestones to those review windows to minimise policy risk during examination.

The same date also brings changes to how legal challenges are run for NPSs and development consent decisions under the Planning Act 2008. While the detail sits in the 2025 Act, the intention is a clearer and faster process that reduces prolonged uncertainty for projects. For investors, that means re‑checking longstop clauses and contingency buffers in EPC and offtake agreements as the challenge pathway shifts.

Development corporations are given more consistent powers. Overlaps between proposed corporations are resolved in favour of the higher‑tier body, duties on sustainable development and climate change are standardised, and the list of infrastructure they can provide is brought into line with mayoral corporations. This should make it easier to structure place‑based vehicles and attract capital into large sites, from new settlements to city‑region transport nodes. These provisions begin on 18 February 2026.

Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) shift how mitigation can be delivered. Natural England can now prepare EDPs that set out conservation actions for specific sites or species, and developers may meet obligations by paying a Nature Restoration Fund levy for delivery at scale. Early sections enabling EDPs and levy regulation‑making are in force; the first EDPs are expected in 2026, initially aimed at unblocking housing held up by nutrient pollution. Programme teams should treat the levy as a new cost line and plan for area‑based solutions rather than bespoke site mitigation.

There is a clear timetable. Enabling elements for CPO notices and expedited vesting, plus the EDP framework and related duties, took effect the day after the instrument was made in December 2025. The main block-NPS reviews and parliamentary requirements, NSIP legal challenge changes, development corporation updates, and the remaining England‑only CPO measures-starts on 18 February 2026. Natural England’s annual reporting duty on EDPs begins on 1 April 2026.

What this means for delivery is straightforward. Regeneration CPOs can move to vest sooner where sites are empty, compressing negotiation windows and reducing holding costs. NSIP sponsors should align examination strategies with the NPS review cycle and refresh litigation risk registers for the revised judicial review route. Housebuilders and infrastructure promoters should plug provisional Nature Restoration Fund rates into 2026–27 budgets while the secondary legislation for the levy is finalised.

Two uncertainties remain. The precise levy design and EDP coverage will come through secondary legislation and guidance, and early case law will determine how far the revised challenge process speeds NSIPs without compromising scrutiny. Until then, the direction of travel is clear: quicker vesting for CPOs, more predictable policy for NSIPs, and a move from bespoke mitigation to plan‑led nature recovery at scale.