Wednesday 3 September
2025, Committee Room 8, House of Commons
This week the Environmental Audit Committee considers the
environmental impacts of road construction, and whether schemes
designed to mitigate this such as biodiversity net gain (BNG) are
fit for purpose.
The cross-party committee of MPs will consider how successfully
environmental mitigation and BNG have helped to protect the
environment and improve biodiversity in new developments, and
whether there are specific problems associated with the delivery
of new road infrastructure.
In its inquiry into environmental
sustainability and housing growth, MPs have heard
that the delivery of commitments to improve biodiversity around
new developments has sometimes been poor, and that monitoring,
enforcement and skills issues have hampered progress.
Concerns have been raised about the success of tree planting for
certain road projects. In 2023, the Times reported that 400,000
trees planted in roadwork schemes had died. MPs are likely to ask
witnesses what specific challenges are raised by planting new
trees, and how developers can prevent major failures.
MPs will also consider how pollution from road run-off affects
local ecosystems by leaking into waterways. In 2022, the
Government accepted that more action was needed to tackle this
problem; MPs will ask National Highways whether the situation has
improved since then.
Witnesses
Panel 1, from 14.30:
- Nicole Hillier, Principal Policy Advocate, Infrastructure,
The Woodland Trust
- Kevin Martin, Head of Tree Collections, Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew
Panel 2, from 15.15:
- Jo Bradley, Director of Operations UK, Stormwater Shepherds
- Catherine Moncrieff, Head of Policy and Engagement, Chartered
Institution of Environmental and Water Management (CIWEM)
Panel 3, from 15.45:
- Nick Harris, Chief Executive, National Highways
- Stephen Elderkin, Director of Environmental Sustainability,
National Highways
