Labour MP Warns Planning Reforms Could Overwhelm Environment Regulator
Alex Sobel MP has written to the chairs of three select committees (Alamy)
4 min read
A Labour MP has raised concern about the feasibility of a key plank of the government's planning reforms.
Alex Sobel, MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, has written to the chairs of three select committees asking them to look at whether regulator Natural England has the capacity to carry out its role in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
The legislation is designed to speed up and streamline the delivery of new homes and infrastructure as part of the Labour government's growth agenda.
The bill seeks to establish the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) — which will allow developers to fulfil environmental obligations by paying into the cash pot. This money will then by used by Natural England to spend on environmental restoration.
According to the government, this new fund will allow developers to “do more for environmental recovery” as they help build new homes and infrastructure.
However, environmental campaigners opposed to the move have warned that the change “throws environmental protection to the wind”.
In a letter to committee chairs shared with PoliticsHome, Sobel has warned that Natural England may struggle to oversee this fund as it faces budgetary pressures and cuts.
The Labour MP also said that the changes set out in the legislation may not mark an end to legal challenges, claiming that developers may launch action themselves over the fees they are asked to pay into the fund.
Speaking to PoliticsHome, Sobel said that bringing this "massive new duty" could deter developers and lead to them taking "quite a lot of Natural England's time and energy" in challenging the levy imposed.
"The developer would hold up their own development to try and save some costs," he said.
Sobel said there are “significant worries” about whether the regulator has the resources to oversee the policy, in his letter to Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael and Labour MPs Florence Eshalomi and Toby Perkins. They are the chairs of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, and Environmental Audit Committee respectively.
“While there is no criticism of the regulator itself, there are significant worries that Natural England has the resources, expertise and capabilities to oversee what will be one of the most crucial policies in planning reform that have been seen in decades," Sobel wrote.
Sobel pointed to March story by The i Paper revealing at least 200 jobs would be lost at Natural England due to budget pressures.
In addition to establishing an NRF, the bill will create Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs), which will set out a package of conservation measures sufficient to address one or more environmental impacts of development and secure an “environmental uplift”.
The MP also warned that “such a radical transformation of environmental legislation” is likely to lead to EDPs being subject to legal challenges, including judicial review.
"Natural England would then have to defend its assessment, which would be an extremely costly and time-consuming problem," he said.
Sobel told PoliitcsHome that there have been concerns about the capacity of Natural England for some time, adding that when he was shadow nature minister, it was "really clear that they didn't have the resources to do their jobs".
He is also concerned that the impact could delay actual development "for years" as well as leading to a delay in the money reaching Natural England through the NRF.
"On both fronts, it might end up being a big bottleneck."
A government spokesperson said: “The Nature Restoration Fund will unblock the building of much-needed homes and infrastructure, and we are giving Natural England the resources they need to deliver this by investing £14m into the fund, and using payments from developers to ensure it will run on a full cost-recovery basis.
“Our Planning and Infrastructure Bill will deliver a win-win for the economy and nature – fixing the failing system we inherited which has blocked economic growth while doing nothing for nature’s recovery.”
