These consultations present a very rare opportunity to influence the future of both national farming and planning policy and how these impact on nature in England. Precious wild places and the species that depend on them have suffered catastrophic declines over the past 70 years; intensive farming and urbanisation are among the major causes of the declines.

Now the public has a chance to call for a visionary approach to the environment; one that means planning rules and farm support and regulation work together towards the recovery of our nature and wildlife.

Consultation on National Planning Policy Framework

The consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework is here; it closes on Thursday 10 May. The rules that guide planning for development will shape the future of housing. About 36 square miles of land are used by new developments every year and so the outcome of this consultation is hugely important for wildlife. The Wildlife Trusts want to see rules that:

• Protect wildlife and secure recognition of Local Wildlife Sites (which lose their protection under the current proposals)
• Integrate wildlife habitats into new developments – for wildlife and people
• Commit to an improvement for wild species and habitats from all development (‘net biodiversity gain’)
• Require that new developments contribute to a national ‘Nature Recovery Network’ by including this in local planning strategies

Consultation on the future for food, farming and the environment

The consultation on the future for food, farming and the environment is here; it closes on Tuesday 8 May. Please have your say on agricultural policy because farmers deserve to be rewarded by the tax payer when their work benefits our society as a whole.

The consultation asks where public money, in the form of subsidies to farmers, should be spent in the future. It will also help to establish how the rules and standards for land management should be set and enforced.

Farmers need healthy soils and large populations of pollinators, like bees, to grow crops. We need clean, healthy water running into our rivers. We need a wildlife-rich countryside to relax in. To ensure this, The Wildlife Trusts want to see rules that:

• Reward farmers and land managers for the benefits they provide for society, like clean water, healthy soils and a wildlife-rich countryside
• Replace the Common Agricultural Policy with a system that supports public benefits and environmental outcomes for society
• Changes the culture of regulation, making it easier for farmers to help nature without being weighed down by paperwork, inspections and bureaucracy

Stephanie Hilborne OBE, Chief Executive, The Wildlife Trusts, says: “There’s never been a better time to stand up for wildlife and make our voices heard. Decisions about housing and farming are fundamental to the future of wildlife in this country. They will determine whether we are able to lead the world in nature’s recovery by creating a Nature Recovery Network or whether we will keep losing wildlife every day. Please write to the government at this critical moment to ask for wildlife to be taken more seriously in planning decisions; not least to call for protection for Local Wildlife Sites to be reinstated.”