Planning proposals to boost the number of houses being built include a ‘win-win’ for both the economy and the environment as the UK government promises 1.5million new homes for the country.
The government say they will focus on protecting the natural habitat of wild animals with a new ‘Nature Restoration Fund’ that would enable developers to meet their environmental obligations quicker – by ‘accelerating the building of homes and improving the environment’.
Concerns surrounding the impact of building on areas with an abundance of wildlife have become a bugbear for developers, causing costly delays which have prompted the government to say; ‘Currently developers may need to secure mitigation for environmental harm before being granted planning permission, rules are too focused on preserving the status quo instead of supporting growth and charting a course to nature recovery.’.
Due to these issues, the government intents to rollout fresh measures as part of wider proposals for the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill, designed to ‘unlock a new scale of delivery for housing and infrastructure’.
This new approach to development and the environment aims to turbocharge the number of homes being built in what the government is dubbing a ‘win-win’ situation for environmentalists and economists, promising to halt and reverse the decline of species and natural habitats.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have implemented the measures today to advance the ‘Get Britain Building’ project with promises to deliver 1.5 million new homes alongside 150 major infrastructure decisions. The reforms will allow developers to pay into the fund and building will be able to commence immediately, creating certainty against the backdrop of what the Ministry is calling a ‘broken status quo’.
A delivery body, such as Natural England, will then take responsibility for securing positive environmental outcomes, for example, delivering a reduction in nutrient pollution affecting the water environment or securing habitats to increase the population of a protected species.
The Deputy Prime Minister has said that ‘barriers need to be stripped down to allow growth’ and claims that vital housing projects have been ‘tied up in red tape’, leaving communities lacking.
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner said:
“Getting Britain building means stripping away unnecessary barriers to growth to deliver the homes that we so desperately need.
“For years, vital housing and infrastructure projects have been tied up in red tape leaving communities without the homes, infrastructure and jobs they need.
“Our Plan for Change will put an end to the status quo while restoring nature. It’s win-win for development and our environment, including targeted reforms allowing us to use the economic benefits of growth to fund tangible and targeted action for nature’s recovery.”
The Environment Secretary has stressed the importance of protecting nature, and echoes the sentiments of the Deputy Prime Minister, claiming the ‘status quo’ has been ‘failing to protect the environment’.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “We were elected on a mandate to get Britain building again and protect nature. But the status quo is blocking the building of homes and failing to protect the environment. These reforms will allow tens of thousands of homes to be built while protecting the natural environment we all depend on.”
The Government says that it will lead a single strategic assessment and delivery plan for an area – not an individual site – which will allow decisions to be made at an appropriate geographic scale.
It has been claimed that the current process is ‘uncertain and costly’, with assessments on issues such as nutrient neutrality requiring ‘bespoke calculations and significant technical expertise at the level of each individual project’.
A public delivery body will now consider which actions are needed to address the environmental impact of a development across an area and determine how much developers will pay into the Nature Restoration Fund.
The delivery body will then secure the actions funded by developers, removing the need for actions to be taken on a case by case basis.
The proposals are set out in a working paper, which seeks views from stakeholders including communities, housing and clean power developers, nature service providers and local authorities. Feedback from the working paper will inform the next stage of policy development – influencing the next steps of reform.
Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England, said:
“It is evident that we need to take urgent action to address the worsening decline of nature, and we must also lean into the challenges posed by housing shortages.
We will continue to work with the Government to help deliver their plans – but the two key issues of today, nature and economic recovery, should not be pitted against one another, as we step up efforts to avoid losing what protected remnants of nature remain while also restoring some of what has gone.
Instead, we should consider the huge opportunities which can be unlocked through better strategic planning which considers environmental improvements, economic development and green spaces for public enjoyment on a landscape scale.”
The government would use the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to introduce legislative changes to drive action at a strategic level which will provide certainty for both developers and the environment.
This will also establish a more efficient and effective way for Habitats Regulations and other environmental obligations to be discharged, pooling individual contributions to deliver the strategic interventions necessary to drive nature recovery.
