Your Chance to Fix Environmental Regulation That Doesn't Work

Quick summary

• The Law Commission is reviewing environmental regulation affecting farming and land management in England.

• Defra commissioned the review, so it has a real chance of changing the rules.

• Scope covers SSSI consents, Habitats Regulations assessments, EIA and heather burning, but not wildlife law.

• Send your examples of overlapping consents, unworkable conditions or disproportionate paperwork to info@moorlandassociation.org.

The Law Commission is reviewing the environmental laws and regulations that affect farming and land management in England. We met its team this week, and we are now collecting real examples from members to show where the rules fall down. We need yours.

Why your example matters

Defra asked for this review. This is important because a review called for by a campaign group tends to gather dust. One commissioned by the department that writes the rules has a real chance of changing them.

Two independent reviews have already reached the same conclusion. The Dartmoor Review in 2023 and the Corry Review in 2025 both found that environmental regulation needs streamlining. Defra has now asked the Law Commission to find where the law can be simplified, brought together, and made to focus on results rather than paperwork.

The Commission is mapping problem areas right now. Sending your example early is key.

What the review covers

The review looks at:

• SSSI consents

• Habitats Regulations assessments (the checks required before work that might affect a protected habitat)

• Environmental Impact Assessment

• heather burning regulations

• other related rules

It does not cover wildlife law. The Commission looked at that separately in 2015.

What we are looking for

Send us cases where:

• you needed several overlapping consents from different bodies

• a consent came with conditions you could not carry out in practice, so nothing improved on the ground

• the paperwork was out of all proportion to the job

• the rules rewarded ticking boxes over a real result for the land

We have a handful already. More make a stronger case.

How to send your case

The simplest route is through us. Email info@moorlandassociation.org. We will pull everything together for the Commission and redact names and details if you ask.

Tell us two things: what the problem was, and what it meant in practice on your ground.

If you would rather go direct

You can write straight to the Commission at ELF@lawcommission.gov.uk.

One limit to keep in mind. The Commission cannot touch policy. Your example has to be about the law itself, or the way it is applied, not the policy behind it. Set out the problem and its practical effect.

Why this matters

Rules that do not work cost upland businesses time and money, and they can block the very conservation they were meant to secure. Get involved now and we help shape the public consultation the Commission plans for early 2027.

A real chance to fix regulation that fails does not come around often. This is one, and it only works if members supply the evidence. If you have a case, please send it.