Threats to nature in Labour’s planning bill | Letter

The government’s proposals lack the safeguards necessary to preserve key ecosystems, including chalk streams and woodlands, warns Prof EJ Milner-GullandRe your article (Planning bill ‘throws environmental protection to the wind’, say UK nature chiefs, 9 April), while Labour’s planning and infrastructure bill aims for 1.5m homes to spur economic growth, part 3 of the bill threatens both nature and delivery.The UK’s wildlife has declined 19% since 1970, with 16% of species at risk. Yet part 3’s environmental delivery plans allow developers to pay an unquantified levy for vague restoration, sidestepping the Environment Act’s principles of prevention and precaution, and risking irreversible harm to our iconic ecosystems such as chalk streams and woodlands. Continue reading...

Apr 15, 2025 - 18:10
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Threats to nature in Labour’s planning bill | Letter

The government’s proposals lack the safeguards necessary to preserve key ecosystems, including chalk streams and woodlands, warns Prof EJ Milner-Gulland

Re your article (Planning bill ‘throws environmental protection to the wind’, say UK nature chiefs, 9 April), while Labour’s planning and infrastructure bill aims for 1.5m homes to spur economic growth, part 3 of the bill threatens both nature and delivery.

The UK’s wildlife has declined 19% since 1970, with 16% of species at risk. Yet part 3’s environmental delivery plans allow developers to pay an unquantified levy for vague restoration, sidestepping the Environment Act’s principles of prevention and precaution, and risking irreversible harm to our iconic ecosystems such as chalk streams and woodlands. Continue reading...