Peers back key safeguard for nature in planning reforms

As the Planning and Infrastructure Bill approaches its final stages in the House of Lords, Peers have secured a major step forward to ensure our planning system can support economic growth and the environment.

The UK urgently needs new homes and infrastructure. But we must also protect the nature that makes our communities healthy, resilient and thriving. These aren’t competing priorities. They go hand-in-hand.

That’s why we were so pleased to see our Chair, Baroness Kathy Willis, win strong cross-party support for a pragmatic change that would help deliver a genuine win-win for nature and development.

Protecting irreplaceable nature

The Government is proposing new Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) - a framework that will allow developers to pay into a central fund to compensate for environmental damage they cause through conservation elsewhere.

Kathy’s amendment (130) ensures this approach can only be used where it genuinely makes scientific sense to do so and will help streamline the process - for example, in areas such as water and air quality, while ensuring it isn't used for vulnerable habitats and species that simply can’t be replaced or off-set.

The result? At Report Stage 260 peers from all sides of the House, backed the amendment, with only 141 against, widening the opportunity for the changes to be adopted. It is the only reform to have won a vote on this part of the Bill so far, and by such a large margin - a clear signal that protecting nature while enabling development has strong cross-party support.

This is because Amendment 130 strikes the right balance: enabling sensible development without sacrificing irreplaceable wildlife and habitats.

A strong signal of momentum

There is still time for the issue to be addressed by the Government before the Bill passes, and if so this change would support the Bill’s intention to reduce complexity for developers and local authorities, while avoiding any unintended consequences for nature.

This positive development is a sign of real momentum, and creative thinking in the Lords, on how our planning system can be made to work for people, for communities, for the economy, and for nature.

An important step forward — and plenty more to do.