Natural England’s perspective on why the Nature Recovery Fund is good for nature and development – Inside track

This post is by Bradley Tooze, strategy director at Natural England.

Whilst the planning system was designed to protect important sites and species from harm at site level, the ecosystems vital for clean air, water supplies, storing carbon and biodiversity have become ever more fragmented and degraded.

Continued nature decline will harm our nation’s growth, health and security. At the same time, the country needs more homes and better infrastructure, and reform is needed to enable this in a way that supports the recovery of our natural environment.

To do this, planning must move beyond focusing on avoiding harm at site level to actively support the restoration, improvement and resilience of the natural environment at scale. Reforms proposed in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will significantly streamline the planning system, giving developers a clear and simple way to build homes whilst also delivering for nature.

How the Nature Restoration Fund will work
A key element of the proposed new planning legislation is the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF), a major opportunity to accelerate sustainable development and enhance our environment.

The fund will provide a flexible, scalable approach to environmental improvements where developments have impacts on internationally important protected sites or protected species.

This will be achieved through the creation and delivery of Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) which will identify strategic interventions at a landscape scale to ensure better outcomes for nature. These will be prepared by us at Natural England, based on the best available scientific evidence, and will focus on specific environmental impacts from development, with measures designed to materially outweigh the negative effects of specific developments.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will require all EDPs to be signed off by the secretary of state where they can be assured that the conservation measures in the plan will materially outweigh the impact of development on the specific environmental features in question by the EDP’s end date (the Overall Improvement Test). All EDPs will undergo consultation with the public and key public authorities and must have robust monitoring and reporting arrangements to keep them on track.

Current arrangements, which can be uncertain and complex, require a developer to identify impacts on their sites and secure site specific mitigation of those impacts. Where an EDP is in place, developers could instead choose to contribute to a fund that will be used to implement measures in the EDP, delivered by Natural England in partnership with a range of local bodies, including planning authorities, environmental organisations, farmers, land managers and local record centres.

The new approach benefits nature and developers
These reforms will enable the development of strategic schemes similar to those that have already successfully created benefits for nature through development.  For example, where great crested newts might be affected, Natural England’s District Level Licensing (DLL) scheme offers an alternative to the traditional site by site survey and mitigation process. It takes a more strategic approach, based on national survey data and long term monitoring.

Before DLL, only a small portion of the costs associated with regulating newts led to meaningful conservation outcomes, with most of the funds spent on assessments and mitigation with limited long term benefit.

DLL has changed that. By shifting investment focus, over 80 per cent of DLL funding now goes directly towards creating and restoring ponds so help the species thrive. This is followed by 25 years of monitoring and maintenance. So far, DLL has enabled 35,000 housing units to be built alongside an additional 4,000 ponds, leading to growing newt populations.

This strategic approach not only provides certainty but also a streamlined process for enabling development. The new reforms will result in improved wildlife habitats, not just protection, and will make it easier for both developers and local planners to understand their environmental obligations.

It provides the step change developers need to move away from complex technical assessments and protracted consultations, as well as providing certainty around cost through a clear charging schedule. The government’s intention is that the aggregate cost of conservation measures to developers under an EDP will be no greater than it would be under the status quo.

Statutory protection principles still apply
Existing protections for sites and species will remain. Only when an EDP is in place will developers be able to discharge their obligations via the NRF. That will only happen when there is sufficient evidence that better outcomes for nature are possible, with clear delivery paths and monitoring tools included in the EDP

The secretary of state will need to have regard to the statutory Environmental Principles Policy Statement, and Natural England will have regard to environmental principles when preparing and implementing EDPs.  This will ensure that the precautionary principle, polluter pays and the rectification at source principle, among others, are maintained.

Collaboration is the key to success
Natural England’s role in administering the NRF will build on insights gained from other strategic schemes such as Biodiversity Net Gain and District Level Licensing.

We are committed to working closely with our stakeholders to shape and deliver the NRF. From co-designing it with habitat partners and developers, to supporting local planning authorities for changes and engaging landowners and farming bodies, collaboration will be central to its success. We will also continue advising the government and aligning efforts across departments to embed nature recovery into the planning system and wider policy.

By embedding nature recovery into the heart of development, we can build a future where sustainable development and environmental stewardship go hand in hand.