Planning proposals get Britain building and turn the tide on nature’s decline
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Measures to turbocharge housebuilding have been set out today (15
December) as part of wider proposals for the forthcoming Planning
and Infrastructure Bill. The Bill will play a key role in
promoting economic growth, unlocking a new scale of delivery for
housing and infrastructure. Common sense changes to
environmental rules will support the Government's commitment to
build 1.5 million homes and advance 150 major infrastructure
project decisions, while also...Request free trial
Measures to turbocharge housebuilding have been set out today (15 December) as part of wider proposals for the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill. The Bill will play a key role in promoting economic growth, unlocking a new scale of delivery for housing and infrastructure. Common sense changes to environmental rules will support the Government's commitment to build 1.5 million homes and advance 150 major infrastructure project decisions, while also helping halt and reverse the decline of species and natural habitats. A new Nature Restoration Fund would enable developers to meet their environmental obligations more quickly and with greater impact – accelerating the building of homes and improving the environment. Currently developers may need to secure mitigation for environmental harm before being granted planning permission. This adds cost, delays and can entirely block the housing and infrastructure our country needs – with rules too focused on preserving the status quo instead of supporting growth and charting a course to nature recovery. Under these reforms, developers will instead be able to pay into the fund allowing building to proceed immediately – quicker, simpler, and more certain that the broken status quo. A delivery body, such as Natural England, will then take responsibility for securing positive environmental outcomes, for example, delivering a reduction in nutrient pollution affecting the water environment or securing habitats to increase the population of a protected species. This represents a shift away from a broken system which has stifled development, growth and nature recovery for far too long – failing communities and the environment. Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner said: “Getting Britain building means stripping away unnecessary barriers to growth to deliver the homes that we so desperately need. “For years, vital housing and infrastructure projects have been tied up in red tape leaving communities without the homes, infrastructure and jobs they need. “Our Plan for Change will put an end to the status quo while restoring nature. It's win-win for development and our environment, including targeted reforms allowing us to use the economic benefits of growth to fund tangible and targeted action for nature's recovery.” Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: We were elected on a mandate to get Britain building again and protect nature. But the status quo is blocking the building of homes and failing to protect the environment. These reforms will allow tens of thousands of homes to be built while protecting the natural environment we all depend on.” The proposals set out three steps the government will take to help developers get building while delivering their environmental obligations in a more sensible and strategic way. This approach will mean developers don't have to pay for individual site level assessments for the matters covered by the Nature Restoration Fund – which adds cost and delay – and will no longer have to deliver mitigation needed. A single payment will enable development to proceed. A delivery body will then deliver the actions needed to drive nature recovery at a strategic, not site by site, scale:
The proposals are set out in a working paper, which seeks views from stakeholders including communities, housing and clean power developers, nature service providers and local authorities. Feedback from the working paper will inform the next stage of policy development. Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England, said: It is evident that we need to take urgent action to address the worsening decline of nature, and we must also lean into the challenges posed by housing shortages. We will continue to work with the Government to help deliver their plans – but the two key issues of today, nature and economic recovery, should not be pitted against one another, as we step up efforts to avoid losing what protected remnants of nature remain while also restoring some of what has gone. Instead, we should consider the huge opportunities which can be unlocked through better strategic planning which considers environmental improvements, economic development and green spaces for public enjoyment on a landscape scale.” The government would use the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to introduce legislative changes to drive action at a strategic level which will provide certainty for both developers and the environment. This will also establish a more efficient and effective way for Habitats Regulations and other environmental obligations to be discharged, pooling individual contributions to deliver the strategic interventions necessary to drive nature recovery. Notes to editors
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