Conservationists say part of bill allowing developers to avoid environmental laws by paying into nature fund should be ditched Leading wildlife charities are calling on Labour to scrap a significant section of the planning bill that they say is a “licence to kill nature”, as new data reveals bats and newts are not the main reason planning is delayed in England. The RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts, whose membership is more than 2 million, said Labour had broken its promises on nature. They called for part three of the bill, which allows developers to avoid environmental laws at a site by paying into a national nature recovery fund to pay for environmental improvements elsewhere, to be ditched. Continue reading...

Whitehall analysis provides no data or research to support the government argument that environmental legislation holds up building There is very little evidence that protections for nature are a blocker to development, the government has admitted in its own impact assessment of the controversial new planning and infrastructure bill. The analysis by Whitehall officials provides no data or research to back up the government’s central argument that it is environmental legislation that holds up building. Continue reading...