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Planning Bill breaks Labour’s nature promises, say The Wildlife Trusts and RSPB

New evidence shows nature does not block growth
New poll: Voters say Labour’s failing nature
Pull part 3 of the Bill: nature recovery pretence is ‘licence to destroy’

New research is published today showing that bats and great crested newts were a factor in just 3% of planning appeal decisions. This evidence that nature does not block growth is published as the Planning & Infrastructure Bill reached a critical stage today when the Committee discussion of the Bill ended. The report, Planning & Development: nature isn’t the problem, adds to the growing body of evidence – including the Government’s own impact assessment – showing that nature protections do not block growth.  

A new poll*, also published today, shows that the public think the Government is failing nature. Conducted by Savanta and commissioned by The Wildlife Trusts, it finds: 

  • Less than a third of adult voters believe the Government is taking the nature crisis seriously enough (26%), is listening to local people in planning decisions (24%) and is achieving success in expanding nature-rich habitats (24%). 

  • Less than a third (32%) also felt the Government had kept its promise to improve access to nature, promote biodiversity and protect our landscapes and wildlife. 

  • Just a quarter of respondents (25%) said they would support new building developments in their local area if these new developments harmed the local environment. 

Red kite flying over houses

Red kite © Luke Massey/2020VISION

Housing

Paul Harris/2020VISION

Housing Ross Hoddinott/2020VISION

Ross Hoddinott/2020VISION

The Office for Environmental Protection recently declared that the Planning & Infrastructure Bill will cause environmental regression. To date, The Wildlife Trusts and other NGOs have called for a series of amendments which would tone down the most damaging aspects of the Bill, while also suggesting positive measures to improve it such as adding safeguards for irreplaceable habitats like chalk streams. However, the Government has rejected these and so now The Wildlife Trusts have joined forces with the RSPB to call for the Nature Recovery part 3 of the Bill to be removed.  

The Planning & Infrastructure Bill was introduced in March, following months of false statements from the Chancellor claiming that nature protections were a blocker on development and pledging action in the name of growth.  

Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts says: 

“Before the General Election Labour promised to restore nature. Under a year later, the Chancellor is leading an ideological charge against the natural world despite it being the very foundation of the economy, society and people’s health.

Promises have been broken, and millions of people have been betrayed. 

“The Government’s Planning & Infrastructure Bill, in its current form, fundamentally undermines its commitment to protect nature. The so-called Nature Recovery part of the Bill is a Trojan horse – it’s a misnomer because, in reality, it is a licence to destroy. It replaces vital nature protections with a weaker substitute, and has been described by the Government’s own nature watchdog as ‘environmentally regressive’ because it puts irreplaceable habitats and threatened species at risk. 

“The Wildlife Trusts and others have offered constructive solutions that would allow the Bill to proceed and achieve its aim to accelerate development whilst maintaining strong environmental protections. We’re appalled that these have all been spurned. Nature is in crisis and must not suffer further damage. Much loved places like the New Forest could now be at risk – that’s why we’re now saying the misleadingly named ‘Nature Recovery’ section must be removed.” 

Beccy Speight, RSPB chief executive, says:  

“Despite engaging in good faith with the UK Government for many months, it’s now clear that the Bill in its current form will rip the heart out of environmental protections and risks sending nature further into freefall. 

The fate of our most important places for nature and the laws that protect them are all in the firing line.

"The wild spaces, ancient woodlands, babbling brooks and the beautiful melody of the dawn chorus – it’s these natural wonders that delight people all over the country and support our physical and mental health that are under threat. That cannot be allowed to stand. 

“The evidence clearly shows nature isn’t a blocker to growth. The government has identified the wrong obstacle to the problem it’s trying to overcome, and that has led it to the wrong solutions. With no meaningful amendment in sight, the complete removal of Part 3 of the Bill is the only responsible option left.” 

The Planning Bill threatens to put the most protected, valuable and vulnerable sites for nature at risk.

Places such as the New Forest, Surrey Heaths, Peak District Moors, Forest of Bowland and rivers such as the Itchen in Hampshire will no longer be as strongly protected from development. Furthermore, any commitments required of developers to restore and improve nature will not be guaranteed to benefit the communities who lost their local natural spaces – compensation could take place miles away, even in another county. 

The legislation would significantly weaken important Habitat Regulations – rules which have helped to effectively protect wildlife and wild spaces for decades. In so doing the Bill risks stripping away vital protections without clear requirements on developers to deliver the nature restoration needed to revive precious landscapes such as chalk streams, wildflower meadows and ancient woodlands and to protect treasured species like hazel dormice, otters and struggling bird and butterfly species.  

The Planning Bill follows on from months of anti-nature rhetoric from the Chancellor, and amidst a backdrop of an ongoing Treasury squeeze on the farming budget that supports nature restoration.  

Evidence: Please find evidence that nature does not block growth, poll results, evidence the Planning Bill will harm nature, and details of the Labour Party’s green commitments in the Editor’s notes below. 

Editor's notes

  1. Evidence that nature does not block growth: 

  1. People think Labour is failing nature: 

  • *A new poll published today, run by Savanta, was commissioned by The Wildlife Trusts: Savanta interviewed 2,035 UK adults online between 16 and 19 May 2025. Data was weighted to be representative of UK adults by age, gender, ethnicity, and region. Savanta is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. 

  • A YouGov poll commissioned by Wildlife and Countryside Link showed 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. Anti-nature rhetoric could be a wrecking ball for new Planning Bill. 

  1. Evidence that the Planning & Infrastructure Bill will harm nature: 

  • Office for Environmental Protection wrote of the Bill: “In our considered view, the bill would have the effect of reducing the level of environmental protection provided for by existing environmental law. As drafted, the provisions are a regression.” 1st May 2025. OEP gives advice to Government on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. 

  • As it stands the Planning and Infrastructure Bill weakens environmental legislation. Environmental groups have been advocating for the Government to introduce changes to the Bill to address some of the key areas where it falls short on the Bill’s proposals that: 

    • Remove the mitigation hierarchy – with no need to avoid harm to protected species and habitats in the EDP area. (e.g. clause 61(3)). 

    • Remove the need to address the environmental impacts covered by EDPs upfront. The Bill Committee have agreed an amendment that would mean compensation could be delivered 10 years after harm has occurred (clause 66(4) and Government amendment 97). 

    • Do not guarantee that nature will not lose out as the overall improvement test is too weak and subjective: this was a key issue flagged in the OEP’s assessment (clause 55(3)). 

  • Other fundamental issues have also been raised as the Bill, including: 
    • It could undermine the ‘polluter pays’ principle as economic viability considerations could mean developers may pay less than the sum required to compensate for the harm caused (clause 64(1)). 

    • Harm may be compensated for in another part of the country from where the harm occurs cutting communities off from nature (clause 49). 

  • The Wildlife Trusts have worked with Wildlife & Countryside Link and other environmental groups to propose key amendments to stop the Nature Restoration Fund proposals in Part 3 of the Planning & Infrastructure Bill being environmentally regressive. Without these, the bill will unequivocally cause nature loss and constitute environmental regression. These are described in more detail in The Wildlife Trusts’ briefing and call for: 

    • Guarantee upfront benefits: Environmental improvements must be delivered upfront with a clear and transparent improvement plan. (In the briefing described as: timing of EDP measures, clause 52).  

    • Base decisions on science: New protected features should only be added when clear scientific evidence supports the effectiveness of strategic approaches. (This has not yet been tabled. In the briefing described as: Evidence, clause 53).  

    • The improvement test must also be strengthened to require definite, measurable, and significant benefits, rather than just probable improvements. (In the briefing described as: Significant improvement test, clause 55) 

    • Prioritise avoiding harm: Developers must first avoid environmental damage before relying on Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) to provide compensation, maintaining the long-standing “mitigation hierarchy”. (In the briefing described as: Mitigation hierarchy, clause 61).  

The Government rejected all of these amendments in May, during Commons committee stage, despite the OEP asking Ministers to fix the Bill in these areas to avoid environmental regression. At the same the Government tabled and passed a harmful amendment of their own, to reduce consultation requirements for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. (See our response: Government amendment to Planning Bill threatens nature and infrastructure delivery | The Wildlife Trusts.) It is clear that Ministers are not prepared to respond fully and swiftly to serious environmental concerns.  

Additional amendments proposed by The Wildlife Trusts and others 
Before the Bill was published, The Wildlife Trusts identified several ways that the planning system could better support the protection and recovery of nature. The idea of improving protections for chalk streams received significant cross-party support when the Bill was debated in the second reading, and a committee stage chalk stream amendment was supported on a cross-party basis. The Government rejected the chalk stream amendment at committee, along with further positive proposals on Local Wildlife Sites, new Wildbelt protections and nature-friendly building design. Details of these positive proposals can be found here. 

  1. The Wildlife Trusts’ recent releases on the Planning & Infrastructure Bill: 

  1. The Wildlife Trusts are pro-homes. See: Swift and wild: How to build houses and restore nature together and: Planning for success: how the new UK Government can deliver on housebuilding targets whilst tackling the nature and climate crises | The Wildlife Trusts 

 

Appendix 1 – Labour Party Manifesto, June 13th 2024, promised to ‘work in partnership with civil society to restore the natural world’ and to ‘create places that increase climate resilience and promote nature recovery’. Nature-focused extracts below: 

  • The climate and nature crisis are the greatest long-term global challenge that we face. 

  • Action to hit Environment Act targets - The manifesto document states that a Labour government would take action to meet the Environment Act targets, “and will work in partnership with civil society, communities and business to restore and protect our natural world”.  Labour also said it would halt the decline of British species by 2030 and honour agreements to protect 30 by 30. 

  • Development - We will take steps to ensure we are building more high-quality, well-designed, and sustainable homes and creating places that increase climate resilience and promote nature recovery. Nature would be put “at the heart” of Labour’s new towns and housebuilding plans 

  • Nutrient Neutrality - A Labour government would “implement solutions” to unlock housebuilding in areas affected by nutrient neutrality “without weakening environmental protections” 

  • Protecting nature - The climate crisis has accelerated the nature crisis. Whilst Britain enjoys remarkable natural beauty, the Conservatives have left Britain one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Labour will deliver for nature, taking action to meet our Environment Act targets, and will work in partnership with civil society, communities and business to restore and protect our natural world. 

  • Access to Nature - As part of our plans to improve responsible access to nature, Labour will create nine new National River Walks, one in each region of England, and establish three new National Forests in England, whilst planting millions of trees and creating new woodlands.  

  • Expanding nature - Labour will expand nature-rich habitats such as wetlands, peat bogs and forests so families can explore, and wildlife can thrive, including on public land.  

  • Cleaning up our waterways - Labour will empower regulators to block bonuses for executives of water companies that fail to prevent pollution and bring criminal charges against persistent lawbreakers. 

  • Circular Economy - Labour is committed to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy. 

 

Appendix 2 – ‘Labour’s plan to save Britain’s beautiful countryside.’ Press release issued by the Labour Party on 6th June, 2024. 

From:  <@labour.org.uk>  
Sent: Thursday, June 6, 2024 11:20 AM 
To:  
Cc: <@labour.org.uk>; <@labour.org.uk> 
Subject: EMBARGOED: “Labour are the conservers, not the Conservatives” - Labour launches plan to save Britain’s beautiful countryside 

  ***EMBARGOED UNTIL 22:30, THURSDAY 6 JUNE*** 

  Reed: “Labour are the conservers, not the Conservatives” - Labour launches plan to save Britain’s beautiful countryside 

 Labour has today pledged to save Britain’s beautiful countryside and reverse the tide of destruction of the natural environment.  

 The beauty of Britain’s countryside is one of the things that makes British people most proud about our country. Yet under the Conservatives, our countryside and natural environment are under threat.   

 Labour has today announced a Countryside Protection Plan to restore pride in the countryside, protect nature, end the decline of British wildlife and increase access to beautiful landscapes.  

 The party has a proud history of standing up for our countryside from creating our National Parks to beginning the England Coastal path under the last Labour government. We will work in a new partnership with civil society, communities, business and volunteers, to build on this legacy to:  

  • Increase access to nature for families to enjoy, improving mental health and leaving a legacy for generations to come.  

    • Creating nine new National River Walks one for every region of England.  

    • Planting three new National Forests in England.  

    • Ensuring that our new towns and house building include nature at their heart, with access to parks and green spaces on people’s doorsteps and environmental standards protected.  

  • Empower communities to create new parks and green spaces by introducing a new Community Right to Buy to help them purchase and restore derelict land and green space of community value. 

  • Accelerate tree planting and woodland creation, establishing a Tree Planting Taskforce to grow millions of trees across our four nations. 

  • Ban bee-killing pesticides, ending the Tory tolerance of the devastation of our most important pollinators who are so vital to our ecosystem. The next Labour government will follow the science and end the temporary exemption permits on imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam (Cruiser SB) that kill bees and threaten insect and animal life.  

  • Introduce a land-use framework in England balancing the need for long-term food security with the recovery of nature. 

  • Grow nature-rich habitats like wetlands and peat bogs for wildlife to thrive and to lock-in carbon in our soils and landscapes. We will help protected areas like national parks and national landscapes to become wilder and greener, ending the destruction of nature, restoring and expanding habitats.  

  • We will help coordinate nature's recovery with bodies responsible for public land and major landowners. 

  • Promote regenerative farming and nature’s recovery through the Environment Land Management schemes to protect nature and secure Britain's long-term food security. Labour will cut through the Tory bureaucracy that has blocked farmers from receiving hundreds of millions of pounds of funding. 

  • Set up a Flood Resilience Taskforce to speed up the building of flood defences and planting trees that help the land hold more water to reduce the damage caused by severe rainstorms.  

Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Reed MP, said:  

“Britain is a land of remarkable natural beauty. From the iconic White Cliffs of Dover to the Pembrokeshire coastline to the Scottish Highlands, our landscape is a great source of national pride. Our children and grandchildren deserve to be astounded by the magnificence of our landscapes and coastlines and enjoy our iconic wildlife, just as we can. 

“But after 14 years of Tory chaos, nature is under threat. Britain is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Our beautiful countryside is in decline. Our rivers, lakes and seas are awash with record levels of toxic sewage. Half of our bird species are at risk of extinction.  

“It’s time for change. Labour are the conservers, not the Conservatives. The next Labour government will protect and restore nature, safeguarding our beautiful countryside for future generations to experience and enjoy.”  

End  
Sent by email from the Labour Party. Promoted by the Labour Party at 20 Rushworth Street, London, SE1 0RB. 
Website: https://www.labour.org.uk. 
To join or renew call 0345 092 2299. 

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Dale Sutton/2020vision

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