Government insists Planning and Infrastructure Bill is ‘win-win for the economy and nature’

Payments into the fund will allow development to proceed while wider action is taken to secure environmental improvements.

The government has stressed that the bill only allows for this approach to be used where it will deliver positive environmental outcomes.

While the bill seeks to reduce individual project-by-project assessments of certain impacts, it is understood that baseline assessments of the condition of each development site and the impact of building will not change.

After a briefing on the proposals, a government spokesperson told Inside Housing: “The Nature Restoration Fund will have a robust environmental test to ensure habitats and species are left in a better condition in communities.

“This government inherited a failing system that blocks homes, infrastructure, economic growth and does little for nature’s recovery. Our Planning and Infrastructure Bill will deliver a win-win for the economy and nature.”

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill was introduced to the House of Commons in March and is currently at committee stage.

One London council revealed last week that it had declared a nature emergency and launched a blueprint to tackle declining biodiversity.

Waltham Forest hopes the plan will halt and reverse the fall in biodiversity and support nature recovery.

The council’s local nature recovery plan will review its landholdings, including its housing and highways land, to boost habitat creation and restoration. Funding will be sought to accelerate these projects.

This plan comes as concern has recently been raised about how nearly 40% of councils lack access to in-house ecological expertise amid the new environmental demands.