Nature groups rebuke Reeves for ‘cynical’ 11th-hour planning bill changes | Planning policy

Last-minute changes to the government’s landmark planning bill have sparked a furious backlash from nature groups who have launched an attack on Chancellor Rachel Reeves over her plans to scrap environmental protections.

The changes to the legislation come as it enters its final stages before being signed into law.

Promoted by Reeves, they are designed to make it easier for developers to circumvent environmental laws in order to build major projects such as AI data centers.

They include new powers allowing the government to override local democracy if councils refuse developments based on environmental reasons or issues such as water shortages.

But in outspoken attacks on the chancellor, charities including the RSPB and Wildlife Trusts say Reeves is seeking headlines on short-term growth to save his budget, rather than well-considered planning reforms.

Reeves is pushing for the planning bill to be passed before her budget on November 26 so she can factor it into Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts, which could give her around £3 billion of extra headroom over her own debt rules.

Charities have spent months working with ministers to try to craft the best planning bill to ensure growth and nature restoration go hand in hand.

Dr James Robinson, RSPB chief operating officer, said: “Dropping 67 amendments to the planning bill at the last minute is not only bad process, it is legislative chaos. There is no time for careful consideration, no clarity on the cumulative impact and no confidence that this is good planning rather than political optics.”

“This looks like a cynical attempt to get better forecasts from the OBR, rather than a serious effort to fix the planning system.”

Reeves’ intervention in the landmark bill comes after she was filmed bragging about her closeness to a major real estate developer after she intervened to remove legal blocks to their housing projects.

Objections to the building of 21,000 homes in Sussex included water shortages and concerns about the amount of water being taken from rivers and wetlands in the Arun Valley, which risked affecting protected wildlife and local water resources. Horsham MP John Milne criticized the chancellor’s intervention, saying it was the worst top-down government.

“This decision flouts the work done by Horsham District Council to find a balanced solution.”

An amendment proposed by Reeves would allow greater central government intervention in local decision-making. It allows the Secretary of State to overrule councils that refuse permission for projects, even if they have legitimate concerns on environmental grounds or if there are issues related to water shortages.

The amendment aims to make it easier to carry out large infrastructure projects, for example AI data centers, which generate large amounts of CO2 and put enormous pressure on water resources.

Alexa Culver, environmental lawyer at RSK Wilding, said: “For the first time the Secretary of State will be able to make orders preventing refusals of planning permission by planning authorities.

“This could prompt authorities to ignore real-world infrastructure and environmental constraints – like water shortages – to enable harmful development that leaves local communities stranded. »

Joan Edwards, director of policy and public affairs at the Wildlife Trusts, said Reeves was trying to get headlines on growth measures before his budget.

“The Chancellor continues to fail to understand that a healthy natural environment is the foundation of a healthy economy. These performative amendments represent neither a victory for development nor for the economy, and only promise delays and confusion in maritime planning and policy.”

Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said the Government’s race to speed up planning decisions would fail if it did not include the environment at its centre.

“Last minute changes to the bill are being made in a rushed and piecemeal manner,” he said. “This type of scattered policy does not give businesses or investors the certainty they need to drive growth, and puts the UK’s irreplaceable natural environment at risk.”

Government officials said the amendments were necessary in part because watering down the bill over the summer damaged investor confidence. However, no data has been provided to support this claim.

The government said that if passed, each of these “pro-growth changes” would accelerate the government’s “plan for change” to build 1.5 million homes, achieve clean energy by 2030 and raise living standards across the country.

Steve Reed, the housing secretary, said: “Britain’s potential has been hampered by governments unwilling to reform the stubborn planning system which has thrown up barriers to building at every turn. It is simply not true that nature must lose for economic growth to succeed.”

“Slow planning has real-world consequences. Every new house blocked leaves a family homeless. Every delayed infrastructure project prevents someone from accessing much-needed employment. This will now end.”