The Planning and Infrastructure Bill currently passing through parliament is being framed by Government as the long-awaited remedy for stunted growth AND nature’s decline. But, in reality – whilst the proposed treatment might offer the economy a brief revival – it threatens to thwart long-term health and prosperity by undermining, not strengthening, our natural infrastructure and life-support systems. 

During the second reading of the Bill, the Government went out of its way to stress the potential win-wins for nature and economy. Part 3 of the Bill sets out their proposed radical new approach to dealing with environmental impacts of development. The plan is to fast-track and streamline current environmental rules by creating a simple ‘nature restoration fund’ that developers can pay into, via a one-off ‘levy’, in order to account for the damage they may inflict on wildlife and nature. This would then enable Natural England and partners to deliver nature restoration at speed and scale.   

Don’t get me wrong – nature restoration at speed and scale is exactly what we need. By any measure, nature in the UK is still in freefall and we have 5 years to meet the Government’s own commitments to halt this decline and secure 30% of land and sea for nature’s recovery.  We know that is going to take a herculean effort. 

So why are we, and many in the environmental, planning, development and construction sectors now complaining when the Government has come forward with a possible solution?

Fundamental principles at risk 

Because, appealing as it sounds, it comes with huge risks of breaking fundamental principles that protect the natural environment, while also adding cost and bureaucracy to the planning process. Indeed, it’s the biggest change to environmental laws for a generation and it comes off the back of recent Government rhetoric which has falsely framed wildlife protection as a ‘blocker’ to development. As it stands, this Bill raises a lot of questions and it would see the status of nature in law diminish, with potentially devastating consequences for the prospects of all.   

The introduction of a ‘nature restoration levy’ removes three critical pillars of effective environmental governance: the 'precautionary principle', which prevents destruction before fully we understand what’s at stake; the 'mitigation hierarchy', which encourages developers to avoid harm in the first place rather than simply pay to pollute; and, 'the polluter pays principle', replaced by a simple levy on all developments. 

The Bill as currently drafted would allow for an informal estimation of overall harm and assessment of the appropriate tariff to be paid by developers to ‘make good’, in line with Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) to be crafted and delivered by Natural England. The Bill introduces a new concept, the so-called “overall improvement test”, but this is vague, legally flimsy and open to manipulation. The Secretary of State for Housing will also have the discretion to determine whether this test has been met, creating a loophole for political, rather than scientific, decision making. 

Flaws in the approach    

Countering the constant political drum beat of ‘growth at all costs’, many wildlife and environmental professionals, including lawyers, and planning professionals, are now calling on Government to pause Part 3 of the Bill and rethink the risks.  Others, including Wildlife and Countryside Link have crafted detailed amendments that would, at least see some of the gaping holes in this legislation filled. Our own chalk streams campaign has led to the first set of amendments, providing a glimmer of optimism.   

But even leaving aside the fundamental weakening of protections, the success of this approach hinges on the capacity and capability of Natural England to develop effective EDPs, ensure their delivery, and police their effectiveness.  With levy income having to cover their administration costs, and with their new statutory direction to ‘promote growth’, it is easy to see this as a serious challenge for an organisation that has been stripped of resources over the past decade.    

There’s another issue too, the levy must consider the economic viability of development along with other potential sources of funding for the conservation measures in the EDP.  When administration costs are also deducted, how much money will be generated for genuine nature recovery? In practice, nature is bound to lose out when economic pressures arise. 

We are not saying the current system can’t be improved – indeed we’ve seen how schemes such as the District Level Licensing scheme for Great Crested Newts can work within existing legal rules and succeed in reducing complexity. We have a strong track record of implementing successful environmental mitigation schemes locally including the Thames Basin Heaths, Solent Waders and Brent Geese and Nutrient Neutrality. We have made these work well for both developers and nature’s recovery - within existing rules and without taking away key principles and protections. But all of these types of approaches are likely to be swept up into the new levy, risking more uncertainty and delays.   

Any streamlined system must have safeguards in place to ensure that we really understand what is set to be lost through any proposed development, that the fund delivers timely and significant improvement for nature and that there are the plans, places and people ready to deliver this restoration. 

Upfront investment in natural infrastructure? 

While the Government talked at second reading about pump-priming nature restoration so that there was action on the ground ahead of impact, the Bill itself does not stipulate this.  Without this, we lose another fundamental existing principle from the Habitats Regulations, where any mitigation must be in place prior to impact. This strict test is the only effective one we have, and this now looks set to be replaced by the levy. Other mechanisms cannot be relied upon – we’ve been burnt before by pots been filled but not spent and nature not seeing the reward. A recent report  found that only half of the promises to mitigate harm to nature had been kept. 

A more effective approach to development could be achieved without tearing up current nature protections and principles, we've piloted such approaches and we know what can work. Proper upfront investment in nature restoration that delivers significant improvement for nature and provides the necessary infrastructure for sustainable growth is not only possible, it is essential.   

We’ve done the mapping through the Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS), we know where the network needs to be – let’s secure the space now and start paying forward. How about a compulsory purchase scheme for securing natural infrastructure, and the same urgency and political drive behind this as there is for hard infrastructure?  After all healthy nature is absolutely vital to our long-term success as a nation. 

What’s at stake  

Win-wins are possible if we start thinking about how nature can help create healthy, sustainable places to live and work for the future. But the short term shelving of nature’s needs, to clear the way for build, build, build means everyone loses in the long run. This Bill not only creates huge risks for wildlife, it also risks creating further delays and uncertainty for developers.   

Government needs to properly recognise that climate and nature are the biggest risks to our economy and security, as key sectors like insurance and food are now doing, and start taking responsibility for the long-term health and prosperity of the nation.   

Speak up for Nature! 

The Planning & Infrastructure Bill is now at committee stage which means that a group of MPs will bring forward, discuss, and select amendments to the Bill.  

At this stage, it is very important to raise your concerns about the Bill and the problems it will cause for nature. Speaking up can help us to secure a pause and rethink on Part 3 of the Bill.

Contact your MP, using our template as a guide, available here.   

Remember, personal messages have the biggest impact – so feel free to amend this template and make it your own. If you like you can include a link to this blog which provides more detail about the risks. And to bring it to life, do include details of your local wildlife, green spaces and why nature is important to you.  

Thank you for speaking up for nature!  

Unsure who is your MP? Find out here