The Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill currently going through Parliament represents the biggest threat to our nature laws for over a generation. It comes off the back of the Prime Minister’s repeated attacks on nature as the blocker to new housing and economic growth. But the Prime Minister is wrong. Our natural world underpins every element of our economy and, if we want long-term sustainable growth, we must invest in nature.

71% of the UK supports increased planning protections for green and blue spaces, including woodland, parks and rivers, but the Government’s bill will act against the public interest by weakening protections and fast-tracking nature’s decline. We know that for a thriving economy we need a thriving natural world, but Keir Starmer is bizarrely pushing a false choice between protecting nature or building houses. At least Defra have ignored the PM’s divisive rhetoric, and Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, has promised a win-win for housebuilders and nature. Yet despite this, the bill still represents a lose-lose.

It’s bad for nature, because as currently proposed, the so-called “Nature Restoration Fund” would do no such thing. The bill would mean that protections for dormice, otters, beavers, bats and other species could be disregarded by developers in exchange for a fee. This system is designed to rush through development, not restore nature.

It’s also bad for developers, forcing them to pay the levy even if they would rather create habitats on site. The levy also makes consultation with the local community over the environmental impacts of the development more difficult, because instead of engaging on how to deal with the issues onsite, the developer can only say they have paid into a fund which has little or no relevance to the local area.

The Government is playing fast and loose with the ecosystems on which we all depend, and is rushing through a piece of legislation and a levy system without any pilot schemes or evidence of its effectives. This disregard for the precautionary principle is worryingly reflected in the conclusions of the recent Corry Review into environmental regulation, saying Defra is too risk averse and too influenced by the “long-entrenched precautionary principle.” Given that the point of the precautionary principle is to prevent environmental harm, one would hope it is entrenched in our environmental regulations. It is clear that the direction of this Government is to deliver growth at any cost, even if that is to detriment of the long-term health of our planet.

Good government brings people together, but this Government’s characterisation of nature as a blocker to development simply divides. There are plenty of good examples of how housebuilders and those in the environmental sector have worked together to create homes for people and wildlife that represent a true win-win. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill severs nature from new communities and undermines the progress that those who truly push for sustainable, nature-friendly developments have made.

As currently drafted, the bill represents a loss for nature and a loss for forward-thinking developers. It should be pushing up the standards of all developments, not driving them down to match the worst. We need sustainable development that goes hand-in-hand with nature, not a new law that accelerates its decline.

Write to your MP to tell them that nature and the economy must grow together or fall apart, we’ve provided guidance and suggested wording to help you, which you can find below.

Contact your MP

From now until 22 May, a committee of MPs will bring forward, discuss, and select amendments. Speaking with your local MP about the importance of this Bill and the problems it will cause for nature is vital to bring about changes that will be positive for nature.

Please call your MP, meet them in person, or email them to raise our concerns about the impact of this Bill on nature.

• You can find your MP here
• Enter your postcode then click on “Send a message”

There is some suggested wording below that you could use, but messages have the biggest impact when they are personal, so include details of your favourite local green space, why you are passionate about nature and why it is important to you that the Government doesn’t weaken environmental protections.

Ask your MP to stand up for nature 

Dear MP

As one of your constituents, I am writing to ask you to speak up for nature. I am passionate about our local natural environment and am concerned that the Planning and Infrastructure Bill could lead to the loss of some of our most precious habitats and species. The Prime Minister has said the bill can deliver a “win-win” for nature and growth. However, his newt and bat blaming rhetoric means it is difficult to believe he has the best intentions for nature at heart.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill risks creating a “cash to trash” system where developers can simply pay a levy to destroy nature. The Government needs to rethink its approach, prioritise avoiding harm to nature, and strengthen, not weaken, the protections for our most unique species and habitats such as England’s precious chalk streams.

Yours sincerely,

[NAME]

[ADDRESS]

Make your voice heard!

You can find information about how best to lobby your MP by clicking below. 

How to lobby your MP

If you organise a meeting with your MP, please contact us at publicaffairs@bbowt.org.uk and we will send you a briefing on the Bill. If you email your MP and receive a response, please let us know what your MP has said by emailing us at the same address.