CIEEM’s President Writes Letter to the Government on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill
CIEEM’s President, Penny Lewns CEcol CEnv MCIEEM, has today (13th June) sent an open letter to the Government on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, asking for a plea of transparency and engagement.
The letter, which was sent to the Rt Hon Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, and Mary Creagh, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Nature, has asked them to consider further amendments, as stated in the House of Commons earlier this week.
Penny Lewns, on behalf of CIEEM, has made the following requests:
- To include CIEEM and its members, as professional environmental practitioners and stakeholders working directly with developers and planners, in your consideration of possible amendments.
- Once drafted, publish any proposed amendments for public and legal scrutiny and constructive comment
- Ensure that any proposed amendments are accompanied from the outset by;
- a legal opinion from the Office of Environmental Protection, so that if the Bill remains regressive, there is legal transparency as required under Section 20 Environment Act 2021;
- a reasoned assessment of the impact any proposed amendments would have on the environment, the economy and the various stakeholders affected by these changes in the law