CIEEM joins leading environmental and business organisations in letter to Labour MPs on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill
The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) has joined a coalition of leading organisations from across the environmental, planning, consultancy, and business sectors to write to all Labour MPs ahead of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB) returning to the House of Commons tomorrow.
The joint letter, coordinated by Labour’s Environment Campaign (SERA), urges MPs to support the Bill in its current form — including Amendment 40 (formerly Amendment 130), which was passed with strong cross-party support in the House of Lords.
The amendment clarifies how Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) should be used, ensuring that they are focused on addressing strategic, landscape-scale environmental issues such as nutrient neutrality, air quality and water management. It also maintains existing, well-understood systems for species and habitat protection, helping to provide clarity and certainty for developers while safeguarding nature.
The letter highlights the shared view among signatories that a thriving economy depends on a thriving natural environment and that integrating nature recovery into development is vital to unlocking sustainable growth and community support for new housing and infrastructure.
As the professional body representing nearly 10,000 ecologists and environmental managers across the UK and Ireland, CIEEM supports planning reform that delivers for both development and nature. Amendment 40 strikes the right balance by making the system clearer and more efficient while maintaining robust protections for wildlife and habitats.
CIEEM remains committed to working with government, industry and other partners to ensure that planning reform drives positive outcomes for nature, the economy and people.