Only one legal challenge will be permitted on decisions on major infrastructure in a bid to reduce building delays.
The government said this would push back against a challenge culture where small pressure groups use the courts to obstruct decisions taken in the national interest.
On average, each legal challenge takes around a year and a half to be resolved – with many delayed for two years or more – and the courts have spent over 10,000 working days handling these cases.
Keir Starmer, Prime Minister, said: “For too long, blockers have had the upper hand in legal challenges – using our court processes to frustrate growth.
“We’re putting an end to this challenge culture by taking on the NIMBYs and a broken system that has slowed down our progress as a nation.
“This is the government’s Plan for Change in action – taking the brakes off Britain by reforming the planning system so it is pro-growth and pro-infrastructure.”
The current first attempt, known as the paper permission stage, is being scrapped.
Primary legislation will be changed so that, in cases where a judge in an oral hearing at the High Court deems the case Totally Without Merit, it will not be possible to ask the Court of Appeal to reconsider.
Melanie Leech CBE, chief executive, British Property Federation, said: “We can build great infrastructure in the UK – eventually. From power stations to bypasses, we take longer to deliver important national projects than other developed nations, and that has to change.
“If we want to grow the economy and fund vital public services, then we have to better balance environmental and community interests with the benefits of development, and do so in a clear and timely way. Reducing the scope for vexatious and unmerited legal challenges, whilst retaining a right to appeal, is a very positive step in achieving this.”