Your say / Environment
‘Our government is about to sign a “license to kill” wildlife and no one is talking about it’
In the government’s own words, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill ‘provides an alternative route to discharging existing environmental obligations’.
What this means in practice is that essential environmental protections are being removed, putting our endangered species at risk of extinction.
The Bill achieves this mainly in two ways: introducing the Nature Restoration Fund and eliminating key ecological surveys.
The Nature Restoration Fund lets developers pay to destroy habitats without restoring them in the same place. The government’s own environmental watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) warns: ‘This approach risks a net loss of irreplaceable habitats such as ancient woodland.”
The Wildlife Trusts describes the fund as a ‘licence to kill.”
Wildlife and Countryside Link states the fund ‘threatens to undermine existing environmental protections by allowing habitat loss to be offset in inappropriate locations, risking irreversible damage to local wildlife.”
Pretty much every nature-related organisation in the country warns this Bill weakens environmental protections and fails to guarantee either housing delivery or nature recovery. Housing experts have also warned that the Bill will not deliver the housing we need.
This Bill serves wealthy developers, not people or wildlife.
When asked, my MP Karin Smyth claimed: “Environmental assessments and project-by-project negotiation over mitigation measures often slow down the delivery of much needed housing, adding costs. At the same time, there is little evidence that the millions of pounds spent each year on bespoke measures are effective.”
This is false. Environmental assessments are not bureaucratic delays but essential safeguards preventing irreversible damage to wildlife and habitats. You wouldn’t say fire safety inspections slow down the delivery of much needed homes, would you? This is no different.
The leading body of ecologists, CIEEM warns that ‘replacing site-specific environmental assessments with broad plans risks irreversible biodiversity loss.”
The government’s own evidence shows that environmental protections are not a significant barrier to housing delivery. 86 per cent of all planning applications get approved as it is and bats and newts factor into only 3 per cent of all planning appeal decisions.
The government has only mentioned bats, newts, snails and slugs but our fluffy friends are affected too. Dormice, otters, beavers and bees are among the long list of species that this Bill puts at risk.
And it’s not just animals but wildflowers like the lizard orchid are in danger of extinction if this Bill passes. You can’t offset extinction.
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Let us know by nominating them as a Bristol Sustainability Legend.
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All of the Bristol Labour MPs support this bill. Local Labour politicians took photo ops at the Wildsummit event swearing their dedication to nature protection but not one of them will stand up against this ecocidal bill.
Labour was elected on a manifesto to protect nature and green spaces. The Labour manifesto promised: “We will protect and enhance our precious green spaces and natural environment, supporting biodiversity recovery and climate resilience.”
Supporting this Bill betrays those commitments and the people who trusted them to defend our environment.
I’m concerned that Labour MPs are being briefed with misinformation. For example, Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy has been repeating a claim first made by housing minister Matthew Pennycook that the OEP supports the Bill now.
This is what the OEP actually said: ‘It is our view that even after the material amendments the government proposes the Bill would, in some respects, lower environmental protection on the face of the law’.
Although they welcomed nature-friendly amendments proposed by the government in July, the Bill is still a regression and further amendments need to be passed.
Not all Labour MPs are growth-obsessed, party-line zombies. I have the utmost respect for Chris Hinchliffe for putting forward nature-friendly amendments and the fifteen Labour rebels who backed them. Sadly, the rest of the party voted against him and Starmer removed the whip from Chris and fellow nature rebel Neil Duncan-Jordan.
I wish the Bristol Labour MPs listened to their ecologically educated colleagues like Chris Hinchliffe and Clive Lewis. You would think they would, since they are all at risk of losing their seats to the Greens.
Speaking of the Green Party, Zack Polanski has been vocal against the Bill as have other Green council groups across the country. Just like every party besides Labour, all four Green MPs voted against the Bill at its last reading.
Green Lords Baroness Jenny Jones and Baroness Natalie Bennett have been working tirelessly to fight the Bill’s attacks on nature and raise awareness (I highly recommend Jenny Jones’s speech if you like sick burns.)
As far as I’m aware the Bristol Green Party hasn’t published a single statement about the Bill. I appreciate that it’s a central government Bill but it affects us locally and they published statements on the previous administration’s planning changes which were far less environmentally damaging.
This Bill could put the green spaces we worked so hard to save at risk of development again.
You would think this would be an easy dig at Labour but it appears everyone is too afraid of being called a NIMBY so, yet again, wildlife loses.
Bristol Tories and Lib Dems where are you? This is your time to all come together over a shared cause and call out the government. This could be a nice cross party moment.
People care about this. Petitions received hundreds of thousands of signatures but the government continues to stick its head in the sand. Consider this a respectful kick in the butt. You all need to speak out now. This is your last chance!
Don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom, there is still time to save this.
The House of Lords have passed an amendment that would undo some of the damaging effects of this bill. Amendment 130 limits the government’s new fast-track system so it can only override rules on water and air pollution, not those protecting wildlife or habitats. It’s crucial this amendment is passed in the commons so we need Labour MPs to do the right thing.
The government proposed a few nature friendly amendments in July because of people power so pressure does work.
We can do it again and achieve protection for our most vulnerable species but we need your help.
Email your MP and ask them to support Amendment 130. If you are short on time there is a link provided by the Wildlife Trusts which does most of the work for you. It takes only a minute of your time.
If you have a Labour MP you will likely get the boilerplate response about how this bill is actually a win/win for nature and how amazing their administration is. Challenge them on this. Send them this article and make it clear: without the endorsements of experts like the OEP and CIEEM you are NOT committed to ensuring planning reforms improve outcomes for nature. If they have any questions I’m happy to meet with them anytime. I promise I’m nicer in person.
Please spread the word! This bill will be a disaster for wildlife if Labour rejects these amendments. We need all hands on deck to save our beloved environment.
This is an opinion piece by Danica Priest, an environmental campaigner and former Green Party candidate for Filwood ward.
Main image: Danica Priest
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