Calls for nature-friendly planning reform to support struggling councils

Green groups are calling on the Government to make environment-friendly changes in upcoming planning reforms after research found that local authorities are struggling to meet legal deadlines for actions to restore nature.

Under environment laws, local authorities have a “biodiversity duty” to consider actions they can take to conserve and enhance nature, which can be relevant to different areas of their work, such as traffic and air pollution, park management and planning.

The deadline to develop these actions was January 1 this year, with policies and objectives to deliver the plan required to be agreed “as soon as possible” after this deadline.

But new research, released on Friday by Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL), found more than half of local authorities in England have failed to do either almost a year later.

It comes as concerns have grown among environmentalists that the Government will roll back planning regulations aimed at protecting nature to hit housebuilding targets that are central to its plan for growth.

The campaign group asked councils about their progress using freedom of information laws, with 294 of the 317 councils in England responding.

Analysing this information, it found that only 41% of the local authorities have considered the biodiversity actions they need to take, with policies and objectives to support this.

The remaining 59% are either missing overarching biodiversity actions or related policies and objectives, or have neither in place, the group said.

The research also found that a third of the local authorities (34%) that replied are almost a year overdue on their legal duty to consider actions for nature recovery.

And a quarter (25%) met the legal requirement to consider biodiversity action but have failed to produce policies or objectives to support this almost a year on from the deadline.

Almost half (48%) have no relevant biodiversity policies or objectives whether they have considered overarching biodiversity actions or not.

Responding to the findings, nature organisations including the RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts, Friends of the Earth and the Woodland Trust are launching a new campaign to support the overstretched and under-resourced local authorities in England.

They are calling for the Government’s upcoming planning overhaul to include a series of reforms to deliver a system that not only minimises harm to nature but actively supports the recovery of wildlife and wild places.

Under the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the groups want to see more support from Westminster to provide local authorities with the resources needed to help meet key UK nature recovery targets by 2030.

Last week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer sparked a fierce challenge from green groups after he criticised planning regulations and regulators as “blockers to growth”.

Dr Darren Moorcroft, chief executive of the Woodland Trust, said: “Recent ministerial comments are concerning.

“Building new homes is important, but it must not come at the cost of destroying the natural spaces that make life worth living.”

Richard Benwell, WCL chief executive, said: “Local authorities have a critical role to play in the planning process and the restoration of nature, but it’s clear that they need more support from Westminster.

“Putting nature at the heart of the planning system would help create healthier neighbourhoods, cut costs to the NHS, provide cleaner air and water and help make communities more climate change resilient.”

He called the upcoming Bill a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to deliver a planning system that works for wildlife, wellbeing and the wider economy.

Beccy Speight, RSPB chief executive, said: “Local planning authorities have been starved of resources over the past decade, and often lack sufficient staff, particularly with specialist skills such as ecologists, to ensure that the right outcomes for nature can be secured.

“Without a new approach, our nature, housing and clean power ambitions will all suffer.”

Paul De Zylva, senior analyst at Friends of the Earth, said: “It’s unacceptable that at a time when nature is in trouble in every part of England, so few local councils have credible plans for restoring nature in their area.

“The Government is already off track with its own legal nature targets, and councils failing to deliver locally will only make that worse.

“But there’s no way local authorities can do this when they’re so under-resourced by central government – just 5% of councils say they have the expertise needed to deliver on our ecological targets”.

The groups are calling for commitments in law to boost nature, including creating more protected sites, requiring councils to outline new “wildbelt” sites and implement local nature recovery strategies and banning all harmful activities in marine protected areas.

They are also calling for planning reforms that boost nature-friendly features such as swift bricks, bat boxes, hedgehog corridors, native plants and sustainable drainage in all new buildings and projects, that ensure developments do not harm irreplaceable wildlife and requiring projects to put plans in place on how they will increase biodiversity.

Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England, which advises the Government on nature, said: “As we lean into the challenges posed by housing shortages, it is vital that we also address the worsening decline of nature.

“Some areas of green belt have little value for wildlife, but that could be addressed alongside the delivery of new homes by taking a more joined-up approach which facilitates development at the same time as nature recovery.

“Huge opportunity could be unlocked through better strategic planning at landscape scale, and doing so in an integrated manner, whereby nature recovery, economic development and green spaces for public enjoyment are embraced all at once, rather than separately.

“We are working closely with government towards a refreshed approach that delivers more for nature, while enabling the homes and infrastructure we need.”