November 2025
After one of the most turbulent legislative sagas in recent history, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB) has finally cleared its last, substantive parliamentary hurdle, where unfortunately Peers withdrew their amendment on restricting Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) to diffuse pollution issues alone.
It is not the triumphant ending many hoped for, but nor is it the wholly bleak finale that was feared. Instead, it is a difficult, complicated closing act that leaves much work still to be done in secondary legislation and implementation
What exactly did Peers win?
In exchange for withdrawing their amendment, Peers secured a series of government assurances laid out directly on the floor of the House. The Government confirmed that the first EDPs will focus on nutrient pollution and will not expand to other environmental issues until Parliament has had the chance to assess their progress.
Ministers committed to returning to Parliament to make a formal statement once the first nutrient EDPs are in place, and only after that scrutiny will any further EDPs be introduced. While Natural England may carry out preparatory work on possible future EDPs, this sequencing ensures that lessons from the initial nutrient-focused plan are properly understood before anything broader becomes operational. Government also committed to working collaboratively on the development of guidance so that developers, environmental groups and communities can navigate this new system more confidently and transparently.
Meanwhile, the chalk streams amendment was put to the vote and lost, a disappointing outcome and we will continue to campaign for more robust protections for this vital habitat.
After some final tinkering, the Bill will shortly become law. NGOs fought hard, and the concessions secured over the summer made a dent. The Government agreed to strengthen safeguards around EDPs — including a clearer “overall improvement test”, taking account of the best available scientific evidence, stronger transparency and reporting requirements, and a commitment to deploy back-up measures if an EDP under-delivers. But, as the dust barely settles, what now?
What comes next…
The conclusion of the PIB saga is not an abrupt ending. It is at the very least, the beginning of a far trickier, more technical phase.
Secondary legislation and guidance
Over the coming months, secondary regulations will begin to emerge, likely containing interpretations and provisions that Parliament never scrutinised in detail. The sector will need to track these closely. More importantly, the practical machinery for producing and approving EDPs will become a central focus.
There’s still a real risk that EDPs grow beyond what they’re meant to do, and the only real protection against that is solid evidence of things they should not touch. The evidence underpinning the approach in several areas remains thin, something repeatedly highlighted through the Bill’s impact assessment, committee debates and the OEP’s interventions. That fragility must now be made unmistakably clear. Gathering and presenting robust evidence on where it doesn’t work for key species will be essential to preventing inappropriate additions slipping into EDPs by stealth.
“We’ve had one, but what about second Planning Bill?”
Rumours of a second Bill, potentially involving further attempts to weaken the habitats regulations, are already circulating. One of the key lessons of the PIB process is that reactive firefighting is not enough. The sector must collaborate on a positive and compelling vision for planning reform, one that delivers housing and infrastructure while strengthening, not diluting, nature recovery. Countering extreme anecdotes alone is no longer sufficient. We need to put forward a credible, modern, greener planning model that sets the terms of debate, rather than merely responding to it.
Engaging early with the “new towns” agenda
The Government’s growing enthusiasm for new towns will shape the planning, and physical, landscape for years to come. Environmental groups must be involved from the outset, ensuring new settlements are designed as net-zero, truly nature-positive, infrastructure-led places rather than just glossy promises. Waiting until problems emerge downstream is no longer an option.
Planning policies
Further changes to the National Planning Policy Framework are expected, and uncertainty persists around the scope and impact of National Development Management Policies. At the same time, political attacks on Biodiversity Net Gain continue to generate unwelcome turbulence for the nature recovery market.
Despite the exhaustion many feel after this year’s planning storms, the pace is not slowing. The final curtain may have fallen on the PIB, but the next act in the future of planning, infrastructure and nature is already beginning.
The opinions expressed in this blog are the authors' and not necessarily those of the wider Link membership.
Latest Blog Posts