CIEEM meets with Prime Minister’s Policy Unit to discuss planning reform and nature recovery

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The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) was invited to 10 Downing Street today (23 September) to meet with members of the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit.

Attending on behalf of CIEEM were Penny Lewns (President), Ben Kite (Chair of the Strategic Policy Panel), Sally Hayns (CEO), and Jason Reeves (Head of Policy). The meeting provided an opportunity to introduce CIEEM’s work, highlight the unique perspective of our members on the planning system and nature conservation, and explore solutions to achieve a genuine win-win for development and the environment.

The wide-ranging discussion covered key areas including the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), possible reform of the Habitats Regulations, and systemic challenges within the development planning system. CIEEM stressed the importance of engaging ecologists early in the planning process – ideally at the local authority plan-making stage – to foresee and mitigate potential conflicts. We further discussed the opportunities to speed up planning outlined in out planning system solutions briefing paper.

CIEEM also emphasised the need for:

  • Adequately resourcing local authorities and public bodies.

  • Considering the creation of a dedicated “planning/development ecologist” role, combining ecological expertise with commercial awareness.

  • Careful, balanced reform of the Habitats Regulations, with full stakeholder engagement.

  • Clearer planning guidance, either government-issued or sector-endorsed, to remove uncertainty.

We noted concerns that the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and the ongoing consultation on BNG have created a chilling effect on investment in both development and nature markets, with the potential to slow rather than accelerate development.

During the conversation, CIEEM was also able to address misconceptions such as the widely reported £100m “bat tunnel”, clarifying that early engagement with ecologists could have avoided the whole situation.

Sally Hayns said: “It was a very useful discussion and we look forward to continuing the conversation over the coming weeks and months.”

The Policy Unit members asked for follow up information and expressed an interest in seeing firsthand how the planning system can work effectively for both development and nature. CIEEM will continue engagement with the Policy Unit to support better policy outcomes for both nature and development.