Yesterday the Government announced a package of amendments to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Whilst these are a small step forward, they don’t go nearly far enough and fail to address the deep flaws at the heart of this Bill.
Let’s not forget that the core purpose of the bill is to make house building easier by allowing developers to pay money to Natural England – instead of dealing with protected species and habitats on development sites themselves.
The Government amendments show that they have listened to some of the criticisms rightly thrown at them, which is a testament to the campaigning we and others have been doing for the last few months. But we are not done yet.
The amendments do make the Bill look more palatable. They introduce stronger tests, back-up measures where conservation efforts fall short, requirements for transparency, and a welcome expectation that compensation should be delivered locally.
However, whilst these changes make the Bill a little less harmful, they do not deal with the fundamental problem at the heart of it.
At its core, Part 3 of the Bill unravels decades of environmental safeguards. It bypasses the long-established mitigation hierarchy, which rightly requires developers to first avoid harm to wildlife and habitats, then minimise that harm, and only as a last resort, and if there are overriding reasons, compensate for any loss.
This hierarchy is not red tape – it’s a fundamental principle of responsible development. It’s how we ensure that nature isn’t simply brushed aside in the name of progress.
All the amendments do is improve the certainty that EDPs will deliver what they are supposed to – ignoring the fact that compensation is only required because the Bill makes it easier to destroy nature. Without the mitigation hierarchy on the face of the Bill, developers are forced to leapfrog straight to compensation.
It sends a clear signal: it’s acceptable to destroy habitats and species, so long as you pay for it.
The Office for Environmental Protection has sounded the alarm, warning that without the mitigation hierarchy embedded in law, even highly protected sites could be permanently damaged or lost. In its latest response to the Government’s changes yesterday, the OEP was unequivocal: even after the amendments, the bill would still reduce environmental protection.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill, as it stands, is still regressive.
It seeks to make it easier to damage the natural world at a time when we should be doing everything in our power to restore it. That is why Part 3 must be removed.
Please join with us in saying no to #CashToTrash and calling on the Government to scrap Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.