With the second
reading of the Environment Bill being debated in Parliament
today, the CLA has issued the following response.
CLA President Mark Bridgeman
said:
“The CLA welcomes the introduction of a robust,
long-term framework of environment governance, with clear plans
and targets. This will enable businesses, farmers and land
managers, all of whom care passionately about the future of the
environment, to plan accordingly.
“We believe this Bill should go hand-in-hand with the
Agriculture Bill. While the Environment Bill sets out the
ultimate goal of improving the natural environment, the
Agriculture Bill introduces a key mechanism by which farmers and
land managers can play their part by rewarding the provision of
environmental public goods through Environmental Land Management
(ELM) Scheme.
“We also support the introduction of biodiversity net
gain into the planning system, so long as this encourages rather
than prevents development and house-building. We see this as a
key opportunity for the private sector (house builders) to invest
in the environment, including through the provision of
biodiversity off-sets.
“However, we do have some
concerns. The Environment Bill
greatly widens the circumstances in which abstraction licences
can be revoked or modified without providing compensation to
farmers and landowners. These licences are business assets and
removing them without compensation will have an extremely
detrimental impact on farmers and landowners.
“The Bill also
excludes heritage from its
remit. It is crucial that the
historic environment is included within the Bill and in the
annual reporting requirements of the Secretary of State and the
Office of Environmental Protection. Without the Government focus
and investment this will bring, important heritage such as
historic barns and stone walls risks continuing to
crumble.”
