We have updated our previous briefing for Peers to take account of further amendments that we believe to be beneficial for nature recovery and will speed up development.

CIEEM urges Peers to amend Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill so that it focuses exclusively on diffuse and cumulative environmental impacts – specifically nutrient neutrality, water quantity, water quality and air quality – and excludes protected species and impacts to protected features of protected sites through impact mechanisms other than diffuse cumulative impacts (e.g. direct loss or destruction).

We are specifically keen that Peers support the below 10 amendments:

• Amendments 93 and 94 – which seek to improve outcomes for chalk streams.
• Amendment 114 – which places a duty on the Secretary of State and relevant planning authorities respectively to have special regard to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change with respect to national policy, local plan-making and planning decisions.
• Amendments 115 and 116 – which seek to enable local plans and spatial development strategies to guide developers towards sites most appropriate for development and speed up and simplify the subsequent planning application process.
• Amendment 130 – which restricts the use of EDPs to addressing diffuse and cumulative impacts (nutrient neutrality, water quality and quantity and air pollution). Peers should seek to exclude all provisions enabling EDPs to be created to address other forms of impact on protected species and protected features of protected sites (for example direct destruction), as there is no evidence that the EDP approach will improve outcomes in these circumstances.
• Amendment 140 – which requires the Secretary of State to introduce regulations to protect and enhance biodiversity in new developments.
• Amendment 148 – which works to ensure that secondary legislation (Regulations) coming forward under Part 3 provide for the application of the mitigation hierarchy (i.e. the preference of avoiding harm first, if possible), the use of scientific evidence and baseline data to inform EDPs, protecting irreplaceable habitats, and promoting conservation action to happen before the impact from development in certain circumstances (for example where there might otherwise be irreversible harm).
• Amendment 173A – which ensures that nature restoration levies are ring-fenced for nature restoration.
• Amendment 245 – which requires the Secretary of State to introduce regulations to require the installation of integral bird nest boxes and swift boxes in developments greater than 5 metres in height. Swift bricks provide nesting habitats for all bird species reliant on cavity nesting habitats in buildings to breed.