24 March 2025
Ahead of Second Reading of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill today (24 March), nature charities are asking the Government to build back trust in planning reform. They are calling on Keir Starmer to strengthen environmental protection in the Bill and to stop scapegoating wildlife for development failures.
The recent anti-nature rhetoric of the Prime Minister and Chancellor is at odds with the feelings of the public according to a new YouGov poll, commissioned by Wildlife and Countryside Link. Only 12% of the British public think current planning rules go too far in protecting the country’s natural spaces and wildlife. With 26% saying current protections are about right and 42% saying nature-related protections should go further. 71% of Brits said they would support increased planning protections for green and blue spaces, including fields, woodland, community parks, national parks, rivers, lakes and streams.[1]
Nature charities have spent months in constructive dialogue with Housing and Environment Ministers discussing how planning reform can deliver sustainable growth, community wellbeing and nature recovery. They say these talks have been positive and focused on how nature recovery and sustainable development can go hand-in-hand.
But nature groups warn that the Chancellor and Prime Minister have put trust in the Bill on a knife-edge, by wrongly and repeatedly labelling environmental laws, which protect the local environment for communities and wildlife, as “blockers” of development.
They also say that the Bill poses enormous risks to environmental protections without securing potential benefits for nature. Nature groups believe the planning system can be improved and that there can be win-wins for nature and development. But they think the Bill is currently a missed opportunity that risks weakening important protection for wildlife and communities. [1] For example:
The Bill means developers could “disregard” legal protection for key threatened species like hazel dormice, otters, red squirrels and badgers if they pay a Nature Restoration Levy. Conservationists say the proposals simply won’t work for many species and stronger scientific safeguards are essential.
Rivers and chalk streams, ancient woodlands, wildflower meadows that local communities cherish could be more at risk from damage from inappropriate development in return for “offsetting” elsewhere. The Bill should respect the key environmental principle that harm should be avoided wherever possible and always in the case of irreparable damage.
The Bill promises that nature benefits will “outweigh” harm, but the legal test is too weak. Charities are calling for guarantees that polluters will pay for significant nature restoration.
Environmental planning rules are key to protect local rivers from pollution, to protect the natural spaces people rely on and love to visit and to protect threatened wildlife. Loss of green space and damage to the local environment are key complaints to MP constituency offices. Speaking up to strengthen the Planning Bill for nature should be a top priority for MPs around the country.
Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife & Countryside Link, said: "The Government is proposing planning changes that could shake the very foundations of environmental law in England. Environment and Housing Ministers have made positive promises that growth and nature restoration will go hand-in-hand. That prize is real and worth fighting for, but it remains a long way off as the bill stands.
“After months of senior Ministers scapegoating nature, trust is eggshell thin. To rebuild trust and grasp the opportunities, the days of demonising wildlife must end. Government should work quickly to amend the bill, to shore up safeguards for the UK’s most precious wildlife, and to ensure that the planning system is nature-positive, with every development wilder by design.”
Matthew Browne, head of public affairs at The Wildlife Trusts, said: “The UK Government’s current anti-nature narrative is perverse. On the one hand it has acknowledged the need for nature recovery and made welcome policy decisions such as the reintroduction of beavers. Yet on the other hand, some in Government are deriding wildlife in official speeches just to chase tabloid headlines.
“As the Planning and Infrastructure Bill progresses, the Chancellor and PM would do well to remember that nature does not block growth – it is the very foundation on which growth is built – and British people all over the UK want to see nature decline halted and reversed. Getting this Bill to deliver a planning system that works for nature, for local communities and development growth is achievable if done right - and this is the win-win scenario the Government should be aiming for."
Beccy Speight, RSPB chief executive, said: “We have committed to working with the UK Government to ensure new planning laws deliver the best outcome for nature and people. In return, ministers are expecting a considerable level of trust. But trust has to be earned. The Bill currently risks weakening existing nature protections which would take us even further away from recovery. That cannot be allowed to happen.
“Let’s be clear, we are in the middle of a nature and climate crisis. The public and our natural world deserve better and our future resilience depends on it. If unamended, the bill risks doing nothing but accelerating the catastrophic decline of our natural world to the detriment of everyone.”
Hilary McGrady, Director General at the National Trust said: “Environmental Regulations protect the species we cherish as a nation – whether it’s puffins, butterflies or hedgehogs. We agree that regulations can and should be improved if housing is to be built at the scale suggested. But the vital safeguards that regulations provide for nature and people’s quality of life should not be understated, taken for granted or overridden.
“As they consider the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, we urge MPs to consolidate protections for a healthy environment, which underpin a thriving economy. They should challenge Ministers to insist that development actively improves nature and provides people with a connection to nature where they live. They must ensure that essential safeguards remain in place, so the natural world can thrive as new homes and infrastructure are built.
“The Prime Minister’s and Chancellor’s recent statements - characterising nature as something that gets in the way of growth and our national recovery – are regrettable. A strong economy needs a strong environment.”
Kit Stoner, CEO of Bat Conservation Trust, said: “Through divisive rhetoric over recent months the Prime Minister and the Chancellor are pitching nature against development. But we need both. Sustained economic growth depends upon a healthy natural environment. Removing protections for bats, other wildlife and habitats will have direct negative impacts on our economy as well as people’s health and wellbeing.
“Successive reviews of existing wildlife legislation by multiple Governments have found it fit for purpose. The problems are in the way it is implemented. The government needs to create homes for people and for wildlife. And MPs need to ensure changes to planning law deliver protections that are strong enough to protect our treasured local wild spaces and struggling British wildlife. Sacrificing our protected sites and species would cause irreparable damage in a time where we have to avoid environmental harm wherever possible.”
Nature groups are urging the Government and MPs to back amendments to the Bill that give stronger safeguards for local people and local wildlife, including:
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