Angela Rayner says individuals who want houses have to be prioritised over newts

Protecting newts cannot come at the expense of building homes for people who need them, Angela Rayner has said.

The Deputy Prime Minister said too many people are “priced out of getting a home” ahead of a sweeping overhaul of planning rules. And she vowed to tackle situations where housebuilding is scuppered by the presence of wildlife.

Speaking on Trevor Phillips on Sunday on Sky News, Ms Rayner said: “We can’t have a situation where a newt is more protected than people who desperately need housing. What we need is a process which says protect the nature and wildlife but not at the expense of us building the houses we need. We can do both.”

Pressed on the impact on wildlife, she said: “Environmental factors will be taken into account, but we can’t have a situation where we have a desperate housing crisis and we can’t resolve things like nutrient neutrality, which we believe we can.

“We can’t have a situation where we can’t build those houses. There’s mitigations you can make. I cannot accept the situation as it stands currently.”

Keir Starmer last week vowed to face down an “alliance of naysayers” to build 1.5 million homes and fast-track planning decisions on 150 major infrastructure projects by the next election. He said it was “absurd” that the HS2 rail project had spent £100 million constructing a tunnel to protect rare bats. “This government will not accept this nonsense any more,” he said.

Ms Rayner insisted she was determined to meet 1.5million homes target, which would mean housebuilding on a scale not seen since the post-war period. “People are priced out of getting a home and I’m determined to change it,” she said.

“I’ve been underestimated quite a lot in my life and I wouldn’t allow the Prime Minister to put that target up there if I didn’t think I could meet it. And I’m determined to do it, because having a home is not just about home, it’s about security. It’s about a job. It’s about raising a family and far too many people now can’t do that.”

Pressed on whether she could meet it, she said: “I’m determined to make sure by the end of this Parliament that I meet that target. I hate failure, Trevor. And that target is my target.

“So I’ve got to deliver it. And what it does mean that we’re going to have to make real changes to the planning system.”

The Government is expected to confirm sweeping changes to the National Planning Policy Framework this week to speed up decision-making. Increased housing targets are expected to become mandatory for the first time as part of the shake-up.

Under the plans, applications that already comply with local development plans will be able to bypass planning committees to cut out delays.