Planning Bill on a destructive course for nature, environmental groups warn

If the Planning and Infrastructure Bill proceeds unchanged, it will break new ground in the destruction of nature across England.

That’s according to the leaders of 33 nature organisations, who have written to environment secretary Steve Reed and housing minister Matthew Pennycook urging the Government to support amendments to the Bill to protect nature and deliver sustainable development hand in hand. 

As things stand, they said, the Bill would see existing safeguards including the Habitat Regulations and the Wildlife and Countryside Act diminished, potentially pushing species towards extinction, leading to irreversible habitat loss, reducing the likelihood of meeting legally binding Environment Act targets and affecting local communities with issues such as more sewage in rivers, greater flood risk and loss of valued local parks, woodlands, and river and wetland walks.

The group has called for the Government to support the following priority amendments as the Bill heads to Committee stage:

• Prioritise avoiding harm: developers must first avoid environmental damage before relying on Environmental Delivery Partnerships, with harm to protected sites only permitted for overriding public interest.

• Base decisions on science: new protected features should only be added when clear scientific evidence supports the effectiveness of strategic approaches.

• Guarantee upfront benefits: environmental improvements must be delivered upfront, especially for irreplaceable or significant damage, with a clear and transparent improvement plan.

• Ensure net gain for nature: strengthen the improvement test to require definite, measurable, and significant benefits, rather than just probable improvements.