Michael Gove has admitted he’s reviewing the investment zone, a key piece of Liz Truss’ growth plan, claiming that anything that could harm the environment is “out.”
In last month’s mini-budget, then-Prime Minister Kwasi Kwarten planned to slash taxes on businesses and relax planning rules in at least 38 municipalities, dubbed “investment regions.”
The announcement sparked widespread concern from environmental charities and groups that vital protections protecting wildlife, landscapes and buildings could be ripped away.
Gove, who returned as Secretary of Leveling Up under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak just four months after Boris Johnson’s dramatic dismissal, told Sophie Ridge on Sunday on Sky News that investing He said the zone could be phased out.
He also insisted that “we will not under any circumstances weaken environmental protection.”
Asked if the zone, a key part of Truss’ policy platform, would move forward, he said:
“While we must of course make sure that any change we make will help support economic growth and people doing good jobs, one of the concerns raised about the investment zone is the environmental impact. was.
“I am very clear and the Prime Minister is very clear that under no circumstances will environmental protection be undermined.
“So we will review with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of the Environment and the Prime Minister the proposals made when Liz was Prime Minister … and exclude anything that may in any way undermine environmental protection. ”
