"The Government can still get this right – we need homes for people, but destroying homes for wildlife is not the way to do it. We urge peers to rally behind this truth"
- Craig Bennett - The Wildlife Trusts
Nature charities are calling on members of the House of Lords to support amendments to the Planning & Infrastructure Bill that would safeguard wildlife and sensitive habitats from its most damaging provisions.
A proposal from a coalition of peers aims to remove protected species and habitats from the new Environmental Delivery Plan (EDP) system introduced in Part 3 of the Bill. The amendment would ensure that woodlands, sand dunes, otters, and barn owls are not subjected to a broad-brush approach that could undermine their protection.
As the Bill nears its final debate in the Lords, The Wildlife Trusts are urging peers to support Amendment 130, tabled by Baroness Willis of Summertown, which would exclude sensitive habitats and species from the EDP process. The charities also encourage peers to advocate for the mitigation hierarchy, a principle requiring developers to avoid harm to nature first and only move to mitigation and compensation as a last resort, through Amendment 148.
“It’s crunch time for improving this extremely damaging Bill and for reducing its very real risk to wildlife," comments Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts. "Report after report catalogues appalling nature declines – only last week we heard of another species becoming extinct in Europe, the beautiful slender-billed curlew. The approach that the Bill currently sets out could lead to one of the biggest reversals of protections for our precious wildlife that we’ve ever seen, paving the way to more such extinctions."
“The Government appears intent on taking power and decision-making away from local communities, whilst Rachel Reeves peddles lies, scapegoating nature for a struggling economy. The Government can still get this right – we need homes for people, but destroying homes for wildlife is not the way to do it. We urge peers to rally behind this truth.”
The Wildlife Trusts have published a briefing for the report stage in the Lords, backing Amendment 130 and supporting additional protections for chalk streams via Amendment 94. A series of last-minute Government amendments has also been criticised for being rushed and driven by Treasury growth measures rather than careful consideration of environmental impacts.
