The Housing Secretary lashed out at strict conservation regulations which have been accused of slowing down construction and making it more expensive.

The Great Crested Newt is a protected species under UK laws carried over from when it was in the EU, which means it is an offence to ‘deliberately kill, injure, disturb or capture them or …destroy their breeding sites and resting places’ even if there are none there.

Under the scheme, applications that comply with local development criteria – known as a ‘local plan’ – for how many homes need to be built will bypass planning committees entirely.

The Housing Secretary vowed to ‘streamline’ planning rules for new homes in order to thwart local councils.

Ms Rayner, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, warned that too many people are being priced out of having a family home and that radical action is needed to increase the supply.

She has set a target of 1.5million new homes during the course of this parliament and signalled that councils have refuse to play their part could be removed from the process entirely.

Critics fear this means residents will not be able to have their objections represented.

She told Sky News: ‘We just can’t carry on like this. We are not getting the development we need, we are not getting the houses we need.

‘[Prices are] eight times the average income for first-time buyers. People are priced out of getting a home and I am determined to change that.’

Under the scheme, to be unveiled on Thursday, applications that comply with local development criteria – known as a ‘local plan’ – for how many homes need to be built will bypass planning committees entirely.

Those applications will go straight to planning officers, who will look at technical details including whether they comply with building safety regulations.

But asked what would happen if rebel councils refused to even set a local plan because they do not want to build homes on a large scale, Ms Rayner said: ‘Ultimately if they do not have a local plan then we will have to look at delivery.’

She later sought to play down the idea that locals will be completely ignored if they refuse to back building.

Asked if the fast-track  was taking powers away from local councils, Ms Rayner told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: ‘I don’t accept that, because we’re saying they have to have a local plan, local democracy, and we’re saying the national planning policy framework, national democracy, were elected to build the 1.5 million homes, so therefore we’ve bolted in the consultation.

‘What we’ve seen is, because we haven’t had these compulsory plans locally, is speculative development where green belt land has been developed on because we haven’t had the local plan that delivers for local people.

‘We’ve told councils, they’ve got to have those plans. If developers follow the framework, the national framework which protects environments, looks at a number of different elements and also follows the local plan, they shouldn’t be stuck in the system for years.’

Ms Rayner was challenged over her backing of a protest in Ashton in 2019 which blocked a new housing development approved by the council. The protesters had cited the need to protect nesting birds among their objections.

At the time, Ms Rayner urged them to ‘keep on fighting’, adding: ‘I want to thank everyone who puts so much effort into trying to save this much loved and valuable community space.’

The developer abandoned the plan the following year and sold up without building new homes.

Asked about the protest yesterday, she told the BBC she was not opposed to new development in her constituency: ‘We also had another site in Tameside, which would’ve built the infrastructure and would’ve delivered homes for people, actually more homes for people, as opposed to the field that they were going to build on.’

Last week Sir Keir Starmer slated ‘blockers and bureaucrats who have stopped the country building, choked off growth and driven prices through the roof’

But Tory shadow Treasury chief secretary Richard Fuller told the same programme that while 1.5million homes was a ‘reasonable target’ it would require local support.

‘Labour seem to be saying that Angela knows best, and local people can be ignored,’ he said.

Planning officers will have an ‘enhanced decision-making role to implement agreed planning policy’.

Planning committee councillors, who will still consider more complex developments, will receive mandatory training.

In the first three months of this year, fewer than one in five applications were determined within the statutory 13-week period.

‘This move would skip that stage and would fast-track development,’ a government source said.

The planning process reforms, which will be put to consultation, are designed to ‘tackle unacceptable delays and unnecessary wasting of time and resources’.

The source added that planning committees are ‘councillors acting in a representative capacity’ and can significantly delay the process.

Last week Sir Keir Starmer slated ‘blockers and bureaucrats who have stopped the country building, choked off growth and driven prices through the roof’.

But Labour-run councils said they were on a ‘collision course’ with the government over the plans. Councillor Yvonne Gagen, leader of West Lancashire Council, called the targets ‘impossible’.

Dr Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said: ‘By empowering qualified planners to implement planning policies, councillors will have the time to focus on more significant cases, effectively speeding up the planning process.