As the Planning and Infrastructure Bill reaches its final stages, housing developers and nationally significant infrastructure project providers might be wondering what this will mean for them, along with the new opportunities and potential challenges it will bring.
Thomson Environmental Consultants anticipates that this bill, if done right, could be a game-changer for nature.
It has the potential to mobilise millions, and potentially billions of pounds for nature conservation over time. This would be a game-changer for ecologists and environmental managers, potentially shifting working practices towards targeted, proactive nature restoration and long-term monitoring and management, which nature really has the potential to feel benefits from.
What is the Planning and Infrastructure Bill?
The main goal of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB) is to accelerate the construction of new homes and infrastructure, thereby enabling increased economic growth. A secondary and linked goal is to strategically coordinate investment in and interventions to aid nature recovery.
The UK Government believes that current planning regulations are slowing down the development of new homes and infrastructure, which in turn is hindering economic growth.
Rachel Reeves, the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, considers regulation relating to ecology and the environment a particular area of concern. Therefore, the PIB includes proposals to change environmental legislation to streamline development.
Who will the Planning and Infrastructure Bill impact?
It will impact housing developers, commercial property developers, providers of nationally significant infrastructure projects, local and national governments, local communities, and the environment. All have the potential to benefit from new opportunities, though some challenges will need to be considered.
Part three of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill
Part three of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill stands out to us at Thomson as being particularly relevant for nature.
Part 3 of the PIB proposes two key things: to pool private funding for nature recovery via a new Nature Restoration Fund managed by Natural England; and to identify the best locations to invest in interventions to improve nature recovery through the development of Environmental Delivery Plans to be prepared by Natural England. This approach builds on similar strategic approaches to mitigate impacts to the Great crested newt (Triturus cristatus).
This is in contrast to the current legislative framework, which often requires bespoke and non-coordinated mitigation for potential impacts to protected species and habitats on a development-by-development basis.
What new opportunities does the Planning and Infrastructure Bill create?
Reduce time constraints
The bill aims to remove some of the time constraints relating to ecology and development due to new measures such as:
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- Fast-track approvals: Projects to support the likes of clean energy, utilities, and housing will be able to use accelerated approval routes and will be able to bypass some lengthy assessment stages.
- Streamlined legal challenges: New measures will limit delays from legal challenges, such as shortening the timeframes for challenges and extending planning permissions if a legal challenge is made.
- Shorter consultation periods: The pre-application consultation period for certain larger projects is proposed to be shortened as part of the bill, potentially cutting up to 12 months from the typical time spent.
- New deadlines for local authorities: The new bill will introduce new deadlines for local authorities to make planning decisions to prevent delays that can deter investors.
- Modernising local planning: The bill may also introduce a national delegation scheme to specify which applications are determined by officers versus committees, aiming to ensure the right decisions are made more effectively.
Certainty over costs
The bill also aims to achieve cost certainty and reduce time by streamlining the planning process. In doing this, it will make cost information more predictable and accessible for developers and local authorities if implemented properly. Here’s how the bill intends to achieve this cost certainty:
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- Streamlined processes: The bill aims to reduce duplication and delays by providing clearer guidelines for environmental assets and decision-making.
- Standardisation: It introduces more standardised and efficient processes, aiming to improve decision-making speed and consistency across local planning authorities.
- Cost controls on fees: The PIB ensures that planning fees cannot exceed the actual cost to local authorities for determining a planning application, potentially preventing fees from becoming a barrier to development.
- Economic benefits: The government impact assessment predicts that reduced costs associated with delays and planning, along with increased certainty, could lead to significant economic benefits.
Flexibility through environmental delivery plans
Developers can opt to pay a Nature Restoration Levy instead of a complex individual environmental impact assessment and mitigation measures, provided an environmental delivery plan is in place for a specific area.
More large, aggregated habitat and restoration projects may open new scopes of work, especially under environmental delivery plans or centralised fund projects.
What is a Nature Restoration Levy?
The PIB proposes a Nature Restoration Levy, a national fund financed by developers’ fees. This levy streamlines development by helping developers meet their environmental obligations through payment, rather than undertaking individual, site-specific environmental assessments and mitigation. Natural England manages these funds, which are labelled for financing nature improvement projects aligned with strategic plans for various habitats, such as rivers.
Streamlined compulsory purchase
The PIB aims to rebuild the compulsory purchase process and land compensation rules. This reform aims to fast-track land assembly for housing and infrastructure projects, ultimately reducing costs and speeding up delivery in the public interest. Key improvements include:
- Electronic statutory notices: Allowing official notifications to be sent digitally.
- Simplified newspaper notices: Reducing the complexity of information required in public announcements.
- Delegated decisions: Enabling more decisions to be made at lower levels.
- Faster vesting of land/properties: Expediting the transfer of ownership.
- Changes to loss payments: Adjustments to the compensation for those impacted.
Empowered local authorities
Local authorities will gain enhanced powers to acquire land for affordable housing through simplified compulsory purchase orders and by being able to disregard “hope value” for certain affordable housing projects.
However, the careful and considerate implementation of the bill is crucial for these benefits to materialise. It could also depend on the secondary legislation that follows, the details of which are currently not fully known.
What challenges does the Planning and Infrastructure Bill create?
Time to implement
The measures outlined in part three of the PIB will likely take time to implement if/when it becomes law. This is because it’s a complex piece of legislation that will likely require secondary legislation, parliamentary and government processes, and capacity building for planning authorities. While some changes may take effect within weeks of being enacted, others will have a phased implementation, like part three of the bill.
Uncertainty and delays
Some of the initial environmental plans will likely focus on nutrient neutrality and Great Crested Newt mitigation. Other protected area concerns like air pollution, water use, and recreational impact, will be addressed later. Developers may face an unpredictable legal environment, causing delays and uncertainty, especially with disputes.
Lack of clarity
The PIB lacks some clarity on the mandatory use of environmental development plans by developers. If these plans are not mandated, developers, ecological consultants, and planning authorities will face the difficult decision of whether to adopt or approve their use in planning applications. This ambiguity could create uncertainty, resulting in delays and potential legal challenges.
How can Thomson Environmental Consultants help navigate the Planning and Infrastructure Bill?
As a multi-disciplinary consultancy, Thomson Environmental Consultants is uniquely positioned to assist developers in preparing for opportunities highlighted in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Our nature markets team is actively advising the government on the implementation of part three of the bill, giving us an in-depth understanding of the bill and its impact on our clients.
Alongside this, the nature markets team support the Government’s Nature and Investment Standards (NIS), with Thomson’s Director of Ecology serving as the technical author for BSI Flex 704 on the supply of nature-based nutrient benefits.
In recent years, the regulation regarding the environment has seen big changes, including the introduction of strategic licensing for Great crested newts (district-level licensing), Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), and nutrient neutrality. Thomson has always responded quickly to these developments, providing our clients with proactive communications and early warnings to offer expert guidance on navigating these changing processes.
Here’s what our Director of Ecology, Gregor Neeve, has to say on the bill: “The bill in it’s current form presents risks to nature as it appears to be a regression from current legislative protections for the environment. There are also significant implementation risks, for example, timing restrictions for investment in the NRF and the expected speed of delivery.
“The counterargument is that the current system is clunky and results in poor outcomes for nature. District-level licensing (DLL) for Great crested newts is a good example of how changing the approach can enable tangible and measurable interventions that have multiple benefits for people and nature. EDPs may take a similar approach to DLL and, if so, would mean funding would be available for landscape-scale, targeted nature restoration projects for the first time. Not just this, but there would be a funding mechanism to enable long-term monitoring and management of these sites, the absence of which is so often the reason for failure.
“There is a real opportunity for the PIB to be a real positive game-changer to leverage funding for nature restoration, but only if done right.”
To learn more about how Thomson Environmental Consultants can support your organisation in navigating the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, please contact our team.
