The points below were raised directly with me by local ecologists in person and in writing, so while they may not cover every point raised to me by local residents in advance of the debate on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, I hope you value the sentiment of what I was planning to speak about:
Planning and infrastructure bill
Thank you Mr. Speaker / Madam Deputy Speaker.
I’m pleased to be able to speak today on the Second Reading of this very significant Bill which represents a vital step in fixing the foundations of our planning system and unlocking economic growth.
For too long, planning processes have acted as a brake on the country’s development. I have experienced this both personally and professionally. This Bill will ensure that we can get Britain building again – delivering high-quality homes, critical infrastructure and clean energy projects that our communities desperately need.
Indeed, this Bill has many benefits:
It will introduce a faster and more predictable consenting process, reducing delays that have held back much-needed development.
- It includes reforms to planning committees through both enhancing training and standardising schemes of delegation across the country. It is important, nonetheless, that local voices remain at the heart of the process.
- And by empowering local authorities to set their own planning fees, this Bill addresses the £362 million shortfall in planning application services, ensuring that local planning teams are properly resourced to provide high-quality and efficient services.
I should note however, Mr. Speaker / Madam Deputy Speaker, that there is a chronic shortage of not only planners nationally but also ecologists and other environmental professionals who will be needed to make the new system work appropriately. I, therefore, implore ministers to accelerate addressing these professional gaps for the sake of our wider growth agenda, through collaborations with Skills England, further education colleges and universities to ensure that all local authorities have the skills required to progress action.
Mr. Speaker / Madam Deputy Speaker, local projects in my constituency of Rushcliffe show how important nature recovery is to residents across the country. East Leake’s Meadow Park, for example, was recently declared a Local Wildlife Site, protecting 18 hectares of biodiversity and supporting rare plant and butterfly species. Another project – de-silting The Hook Nature Reserve in Lady Bay, funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund – is increasing biodiversity by restoring open water habitats and improving conditions for water voles, insects and bird populations.
These local projects are exceptionally popular and reflect the positive vision embedded in this Bill – a vision that seeks to balance growth with environmental stewardship. However, Mr. Speaker / Madam Deputy Speaker, we must also listen to the concerns raised by environmental experts, and I thank the several experts in my constituency including from the FPCR who have made time to write to me and speak to me about some of the risks they see.
I am sure ministers are aware that the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) has raised significant concerns about the potential weakening of environmental safeguards under this Bill. They highlight that the loss of the mitigation hierarchy – the principle that harm to nature should first be avoided, then mitigated, and only as a last resort compensated – as worrying. They worry that a “likely outweighing test” lacks the same rigorous scrutiny and could result in ecological harm that cannot be reversed.
Another concern raised with me directly by constituents is the resourcing of Natural England which is expected to oversee Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs). I understand that Natural England’s funding was reduced from £265 million in 2009 to £85.6 million by 2019. Without substantial increases in funding and expertise, the burden of developing and monitoring EDPs could result in rushed and poorly-informed decisions, leaving both nature and developers in limbo.
Finally, constituents have told me that they worry this Bill fails to sufficiently address the protection of irreplaceable habitats such as ancient woodlands and sites that support vulnerable species. For example, water voles – an endangered species whose habitat restoration efforts have been underway in Lady Bay – require targeted, evidence-based conservation to recover successfully. Constituents are worried that such species could be overlooked in favour of economic expediency, and this is a concern that shouldn’t be ignored.
Mr. Speaker / Madam Deputy Speaker, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill has immense potential to deliver the homes and infrastructure we need while supporting economic growth and environmental resilience. I welcome this. The nation needs to expedite key processes to deliver economic prosperity.
But we must be clear that the UK’s full potential will only be realised if we take the concerns of ecologists seriously and find ways of delivering sustainable growth which both drives our economy forwards while respecting the time required for nature and biodiversity to flourish. I, therefore, urge the ministers to continue dialogue with CIEEM and other stakeholders to strengthen safeguards and enhance monitoring, to ensure that admirable ambitions for growth do not come at the cost of long-term ecological damage.
We have an opportunity to build a brilliant future for our country where development and nature thrive together. Let’s get this right now, so that future generations enjoy a better natural world as well as a more prosperous one.
