Wildlife experts accused the UK government of ignoring environmental promises in its new Planning and Infrastructure Bill. The proposed legislation, designed to “speed up and streamline” housing and infrastructure projects, has passed the House of Commons and now sits before the House of Lords. Conservation groups insist there is still time to oppose what they call a “disastrous” attack on nature.
The government described the Bill as “central to Britain’s economic growth and housing revival.” However, The Wildlife Trusts warned ministers are “digging graves for wildlife.” Campaigners from Protect the Wild said, “We cannot stand by while nature is destroyed and decimated.” The Bill would weaken Biodiversity Net Gain requirements for small and medium-sized developments—projects that make up over 70% of all housing construction in England.
Conservation Leaders Warn of Irreversible Ecological Damage
Joan Edwards OBE, Director of Policy at The Wildlife Trusts, called the proposal “bad news for nature and communities.” She said developers must offset environmental damage by creating or restoring habitats nearby. “Exempting smaller developments ignores the cumulative harm they cause,” she said.
Edwards explained that small green spaces play vital roles in flood prevention, air purification, and community wellbeing. “Urban wild places give people clean air, reduce flooding, and offer the cheerful song of the blackbird,” she said. She argued that Biodiversity Net Gain helps protect such areas by ensuring development enhances, rather than erases, natural habitats.
She described Labour’s decision to back the Bill as “grim” and urged citizens to contact MPs before its final reading. She said the legislation “fails to grasp the scale of the nature crisis” and risks “cutting public benefits to boost profits for a few.”
Campaigners Rally Public Support to Defend Nature
The government insists the Bill supports small and medium builders with “simpler rules across land, regulation, and finance.” Officials said the reforms aim to build 1.5 million safe homes and fast-track 150 major infrastructure projects before the end of Parliament.
Nature campaigners rejected that justification. Protect the Wild urged people nationwide to “contact MPs immediately and defend nature from this destructive Bill.” The group warned the legislation could allow developers to “bulldoze habitats, skip wildlife checks, and kill protected species like badgers.”
In Devon, the controversy deepened after bulldozers appeared near Wolborough Fen, a Site of Special Scientific Interest included in the government’s “new homes accelerator programme.” Devon Wildlife Trust reported a “breach of planning control” and fears the site’s 1,200-house project could devastate its rare wetlands. Developers claimed environmental conditions “blocked the growth the government demands.” Conservationists say that excuse exposes the true cost of the government’s rush to build.
