The heads of 32 UK nature organisations have written to the government warning that the planning bill “throws environmental protection to the wind”.
The planning and infrastructure bill, which is at committee stage in parliament, aims to streamline regulations for developers so they can speed up their projects.
Nature bosses have written to the environment and housing secretaries warning that the bill is “one-sided” and could allow developers to ignore environmental protections.
The bill includes measures such as removing guidance around conducting bat surveys before building a structure, for example.
Richard Benwell, the chief executive of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “The government is right that a win-win is possible for nature and development, but the planning bill is completely one-sided. It throws environmental protection to the wind, with little to offer future generations or communities fearful for the future of nature.
“It would leave vulnerable species and irreplaceable habitats like chalk streams and ancient woodlands more exposed than ever to unsustainable development. Promises of nature recovery efforts in return are thin and uncertain.”
The CEOs, from charities including the National Trust, the Wildlife Trusts, Butterfly Conservation and the Woodland Trust, have proposed amendments to the bill in order to rebalance it towards nature.
These include a guarantee for upfront environmental benefits – new habitats such as ponds or woodlands delivered at the point of construction – and prioritising avoiding harm to nature before resorting to mitigation. They also argue that the bill should require definite, measurable and significant benefits to nature, rather than just probable improvements.
Beccy Speight, the RSPB chief executive, said: “We were promised legislation that would deliver a win-win for nature and economic growth, but by stripping out essential protections for nature this bill offers neither. Unamended, it will supercharge the decline of our most precious habitats and wildlife.”
The government originally promised that the bill would be a “win-win”, delivering the homes and infrastructure the country needs as well as restoring nature. But the CEOs argue that it rides roughshod over environmental protections.
Craig Bennett, the chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts, said: “As it stands, the limited safeguards for nature in the planning and infrastructure bill merely undermine nature protection laws and threaten the constructive dialogue of the Wildlife Trusts and environmental groups with Defra [the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.”
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The letter says the bill in its current form could push species towards extinction, lead to irreversible habitat loss, and would make it less likely for the government to meet its legally binding Environment Act targets. It could also significantly affect 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 CEOs also say the legislation weakens EU-derived habitat regulations, which post-Brexit can be eroded without consequence. These laws were transferred to the UK statute book after the country left the EU, and still apply in Europe. The regulations protect species such as hazel dormice, otters and struggling bird and butterfly species.
This week the government implemented regulations that will protect beavers when planning decisions are being made, requiring developers to conduct surveys for beavers 12 months before any application if their development is near a watercourse, and, if they are found, to write a management plan to prove they will not disturb their habitat, block their dams or damage or alter watercourses.
Some developers will have to plant more trees for beavers to eat and use for dams. The regulations follow the historic release of beavers in Dorset in February.
