Nature not the enemy to new homes – report

THE Government risks missing both its housing and nature targets under its proposed reforms, a cross-party group of MPs has warned in a new report.

- REBECCA SPEARE-COLE

The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) found that the measures outlined in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which is currently passing through the final stages in Parliament, are not enough to allow the Government to meet either goals.

In the report, published yesterday, the EAC argued nature is not a “blocker” to delivering housing but a necessity for building resilient neighbourhoods.

The group also found that without further action to address skills shortages in ecology, planning and construction, the Government will miss its housebuilding goal.

The Bill overrides existing habitat and nature protections, which the Government has suggested to be a barrier to its target to build 1.5 million houses by the end of this Parliament as well as wider economic growth.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have previously argued current nature rules have gone too far, often citing the example of a £100 million bat tunnel for the construction of the HS2 railway route.