Legislative Changes August 2026

ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION CHANGES

These Regulations amend the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 and the Biodiversity Gain Requirements (Exemptions) Regulations 2024. Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requires development (with some exceptions) to deliver at least a 10% increase in biodiversity value relative to the pre-development biodiversity value of the onsite habitat.  Find out more about these Regulations and how they affect you by subscribing to We Comply 

These Regulations amend the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (EPR 2016) to establish a new regulatory framework for people and businesses involved in transporting and managing waste. The Regulations replace the carrier, broker and dealer (CBD) registration system with a permitting regime in England. The regulations introduce three new categories of regulated facility under EPR 2016; waste controlling activities; waste transporting activities; and waste controlling transporting activities, as well as exempt waste controlling or transporting activities. Find out more about these Regulations and how they affect you by subscribing to We Comply 

These Regulations make changes to the permitted development rights that support installation or alteration etc. of solar equipment and stand-alone solar equipment on domestic premises. Find out more about these Regulations and how they affect you by subscribing to We Comply 

HEALTH & SAFETY LEGISLATION CHANGES

 These Regulations amend the assimilated version of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (the REACH Regulation). The Regulations modify UK REACH - Great Britain’s chemicals regulatory framework - under powers in the Environment Act 2021. They adjust statutory deadlines for compliance checks and transitional registration obligations, reducing immediate burdens on industry while maintaining the core protections of REACH. Find out more about these Regulations and how they affect you by subscribing to We Comply 

These Regulations amend the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 (the ESQCR) and the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 (the PSSR) to permit the supply, sale and use of specified plug-in microgeneration products, namely plug-in solar panels (hereafter plug-in microgenerators). These products generate electricity from sunlight and connect directly to a standard UK household plug socket, unlike rooftop solar panels which are hard wired into the main electricity supply by an installation engineer. The instrument amends both the ESQCR and the PSSR to include provision for plug in microgenerators to be used safely without professional installation, subject to compliance with appropriate product specifications. Find out more about these Regulations and how they affect you by subscribing to We Comply