In December the government has announced plans to establish a Nature Restoration Fund intended to enable developers to meet their environmental obligations and deliver on the government's goal to deliver 1.5 million homes during this Parliament.
Developers are required to secure mitigation where necessary for environmental harm to gain planning permission, but the government argues that this adds cost and delays, and can "block the housing and infrastructure our country needs".
The government says the rules are too focused on preserving the status quo instead of supporting growth and charting a course to nature recovery.
Under the reforms proposed in the Planning Reform Working Paper: Development and Nature Recovery, developers will be able to pay into a Nature Restoration Fund so the building can proceed immediately.
The government proposes that a delivery body, such as Natural England, would take responsibility for securing positive environmental outcomes. This could be delivering a reduction in nutrient pollution affecting the water environment or securing habitats to increase the population of a protected species.
The paper states that nature must be rebuilt at the same time as building sustainable homes, clean power and other infrastructure. Streamlining development process and the discharging of environmental obligations can unlock economic benefits, which can help fund tangible and targeted action for nature's recovery.
It says: "To deliver this win-win for the environment and for growth, we need to move to a system that can identify and deliver on opportunities for development to collectively fund nature projects at the right spatial scale. This means converting small, poorly targeted, and time-consuming project-specific obligations into strategic action plans for environmental protection and improvement where these will deliver the most for nature".
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will provide the legislative underpinning for the government proposals, which are:
Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner, said: "Getting Britain building means stripping away unnecessary barriers to growth to deliver the homes that we so desperately need".
"For years, vital housing and infrastructure projects have been tied up in red tape leaving communities without the homes, infrastructure and jobs they need".
"Our Plan for Change will put an end to the status quo while restoring nature. It’s a win-win for development and our environment, including targeted reforms allowing us to use the economic benefits of growth to fund tangible and targeted action for nature’s recovery".
Environment Secretary, Steve Reed, added that the "status quo is blocking the building of homes and failing to protect the environment. These reforms will allow tens of thousands of homes to be built while protecting the natural environment we all depend on".
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