Nature-friendly development

Summary

• New developments need not lead to nature’s depletion. We are not building enough houses in England, and nature is in decline. New developments could become a driving force for nature restoration across the nation. Regulations which tie new housebuilding to nature restoration could turbocharge nature restoration across urban, suburban, and rural areas. This has an added benefit of increasing popular consent by beautifying local communities.

• Labour’s plans threaten to rollback Conservative progress. The Conservatives introduced landmark policies, such as Biodiversity Net Gain, to ensure new developments benefit nature. However, Labour’s drive to build 1.5 million new homes risks undermining these policies in an attempt to meet its manifesto commitments. This is because they are proposing to deregulate the nature conservation elements of the planning system to drive through more developments.

• Councils can take action to ensure that new developments are positive for nature recovery. For example, local authorities could include swift bricks, sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS), and bat boxes in local design codes to ensure that housing targets can be met whilst providing a home for wildlife.

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Background

• The UK is nature-depleted, with species numbers declining by 19% since 1970. Wildflower meadows, for example, have  declined by up to 97%. This means a loss of habitats for insects, small mammals, and birds. Other key habitats such as ancient woodlands and wetlands have also been lost and degraded. Our population is increasing, our changing climate is impacting where species can live, and new diseases are threatening species such as the elm and ash.

• The UK needs to build 300,000 more homes per year. Between 140,000-200,000 houses were completed per year over the past 20 years. This has proven insufficient to keep up with demand. The UK’s lack of new housing has driven up house prices and led to decreasing rates of home ownership amongst young people. 

• Nature and development can go hand in hand. Sustainable design via local design codes (local authority-led schemes to, for example, further nature recovery around new development sites and incorporate green development into local plans) can ensure that much-needed housing is built and the natural environment which makes living in these homes more pleasant is restored.

Previous Conservative government action

• Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) ensures all new developments benefit nature. As of February 2024, all new developments must deliver a BNG of at least 10%. This ensures nature is enhanced by development and increases access to nature for local people. BNG was a central part of the landmark Environment Act and the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act. These pieces of legislation introduced nature-friendly requirements for new developments, and many of the articles within the act implement recommendations from the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission. The act goes some way towards ensuring symbiosis between nature and development.

• The Green Recovery Fund and the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund were established. These funds created thousands of environmental jobs and helped to ‘green’ urban areas. Projects included the Greater Manchester Environment Fund, addressing ecological degradation in Liverpool, and creating natural surface water schemes in Plymouth.

• The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) puts nature at the heart of new developments. The requirements in the NPPF were gradually strengthened over the lifetime of the Conservative governments. These included a presumption in favour of sustainable development and transport, ensuring denser developments which balance the need for housing and nature (specifically the need for trees), and a section on conserving and enhancing our natural environment.

• Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) empowered upper-tier local authorities to develop plans to restore their local wildlife. Through the Environment Act, 48 councils were tasked with creating an LNRS, covering the whole of England. These strategies require the councils to identify key habitats, set priorities for nature recovery, and coordinate conservation efforts with landowners and communities over 3-10 year periods.

• The Green Infrastructure Framework provided a structure for increasing urban green cover by 40%. This tool was explicitly designed for use by planners, and it helps to identify where green infrastructure is needed the most.

• The Office for Place was established, ensuring adequate greenery was included in new development. This arms-length body existed to assist local authorities to implement the ideas from the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission. Central to this was the call for our towns and cities to be ‘re-greened’.

Labour's actions

• Labour initially recommitted to the last government’s targets for nature, whilst also committing to building 1.5 million new homes over the next Parliament. Having initially supported natural environment targets set by the previous Conservative government, the environment secretary has since said that they should be ‘rationalised’ to ensure that they are deliverable. Labour is also reviewing the 2023 Environmental Improvement Plan, with an intention to develop a new, statutory plan to protect and restore the natural environment. 

• The Planning and Infrastructure Bill proposes the creation of a Nature Restoration Fund (NRF). If passed, this will let developers pay into a central fund to strategically mitigate the impacts of development, instead of the current site-by-site approach. While this may speed up development, in choosing Natural England, an arms length body, to run the scheme, the government risks sidelining the role that market-based and farmer-led nature restoration can play. There are real concerns about this top-down approach to nature restoration and the potential conflicts of interest that Natural England will face in its dual role as regulator and the NRF delivery body.

• The Planning and Infrastructure Bill threatens environmental protections and takes power away from local stakeholders. The Office for Environmental Protection has continued to raise concerns about the lowering of environmental safeguards. Equally, stakeholders have highlighted how the bill could overwhelm Natural England’s resources by forcing them to be both regulator and the delivery body for new environmental projects. Similarly, by centralising powers in Natural England, the bill blocks avenues for local communities and stakeholders to become involved in decision-making.

• The National Planning Policy Framework has been amended to no longer require buildings to meet a standard of beauty. This was coupled with the shutting down of the stand alone Office for Place, which existed to ensure a standard of beauty was met. These reversed the reforms initiated by Sir Roger Scruton to ensure that new developments were beautiful. Importantly, the standard of beauty always included harmony with nature - something now lost.

• Housing targets have increased in rural areas and decreased in urban areas. To meet national housing targets, cities such as Birmingham have seen their target reduced, whilst rural areas such as Tamworth in Staffordshire have seen their targets increase. This ignores the fact that our cities are amongst the least dense in Europe. Gentle density would deliver more homes and the regeneration of our cities, whilst protecting our green spaces in rural areas.

• The Green Belt has been divided into ‘Green Belt’ and ‘Grey Belt’. The Government has introduced this distinction to enable the development of Green Belt land which is considered to have either previously been developed or to not contribute sufficiently to the five ‘purposes’ of the Green Belt.

Resources and ideas

• Increase your council’s local BNG requirement. By increasing the net gain minimum of 10%, your council can deliver greater measurable improvements for nature. Studies have found that the cost of doubling BNG from 10% to 20% is often very manageable.

• Integrate biodiversity into local design codes. These are designed to be a framework for creating high-quality places through designs which reflect local character and local design preferences. Councils can ensure new builds support biodiversity by integrating wildlife-friendly features such as street trees, swift bricks, bat boxes, and SuDS into local planning requirements.

• Incorporate green development into local plans. Local plans ensure that the planning system is led by an overarching framework for addressing housing needs and other economic, social and environmental priorities. Green features can be incorporated into these plans, for example by outlining how new housing developments should incorporate and enhance nature.

• Demonstrate your local plan’s compatibility with green development by applying for the ‘Building with Nature’ standard. Created by The Wildlife Trusts, this voluntary standard seeks to enhance and protect wildlife, water, and wellbeing. Local authorities can apply to use the standard to demonstrate that their local plans support high quality green infrastructure.

• Manage your roadsides in a more nature-friendly manner. Plantlife’s road verge campaign offers guidance for councillors on how they can plant more wildflower rich habitats along local roads, manage these verges to support wildlife, and successfully communicate these initiatives to residents so that the local community is on board.

• Increase greenery in the built environment. SuDS, such as ponds and rain gardens, manage water runoff while creating habitats for amphibians and insects. Susdrain and The Flood Hub have case studies and more information about SuDS. Water companies, the government and other bodies have made funding available for SuDS.

• Grant permitted development rights to ponds using Local Development Orders (LDO). Ponds are an important freshwater habitat to a number of amphibians, insects, and aquatic plants. In order to create a pond, planning permission is sometimes required. Including permitted development rights for pond creation within your LDO would remove this requirement, enabling the creation of these new habitats. An order could also be issued to expressly forbid the development of land in a ‘Landscape Zone’ unless it is a work of green infrastructure.

• Lead a community water butt roll out. Water butts are a simple way to keep rainwater out of the sewage system. Ensuring new builds have water butts installed will reduce the pressure from new developments. Read CEN’s water butt briefing to find out more.

• Replace impermeable street surfaces with ones more conducive to tree planting. By removing impermeable surfaces like paving slabs, tarmac and concrete, you can create space for urban greening and tree planting specifically. Requiring or encouraging this from the outset means less work to rip up and replace impermeable surfaces. The Grey to Green guide provides further information on how to do this.

Case studies from Conservative-run councils

• Lichfield District Council has embedded biodiversity into its design code. The then-Conservative majority council mandated that new developments must integrate nature-enhancing aspects. These enhancements are site specific, ensuring existing natural habitats are protected and, in areas without these, new natural habitats and features are created. Importantly, the design code takes a holistic approach, demanding that developers take into account the wider ecosystem of the area.

• Essex County Council’s Green Infrastructure Partnership provides a framework for nature-friendly development. Specifically, the deployment of Nature Recovery Officers has ensured resources are directed by staff with specific expertise in this area, ensuring value for money. Its compendium document ensures depth of detail in this process, considering all possible aspects of nature-friendly development. This includes rights of way, BNG credits, exemptions, schools and hospitals, and all types of natural environment in the county.

• Rushcliffe Borough Council has pledged to make at least 50% of homes on new developments include swift bricks. The UK’s common swift population has dropped by 62% since 1995. A key way to help is by installing 'swift bricks', designed to offer them a place to nest, in new buildings. Rushcliffe Borough Council unanimously passed a motion to include them in at least 50% of new housing developments. Councillors also backed requiring swift bricks in new commercial and industrial buildings and will explore installing them in suitable council buildings.

• Hillingdon Council has produced detailed guidance on SuDS. This guidance covers everything from discussions and pre-application advice to information required for major SuDS projects to management and maintenance plans. Guidance presented in this manner should allow for schemes to progress quickly from paper to reality. This guidance was specifically highlighted by the Local Government Association as an example of best practice.

• Dorset County and District Councils (at the time all Conservative majority councils) worked together to deliver Silverlake, a sustainable development, in 2015. The development was spearheaded by the Habitat First Group and funded by the Dorset Council-created Conservation and Community Fund. It retained key habitats including open water, wetlands, woodlands, and living roofs. The design of the estate aimed to maximise the benefit to wildlife to ensure that the habitats can continue to function alongside the new development. The Silverlake development has been awarded the Building with Nature Full Award.

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