Proposals on regulation of developments could be workable but we need to fund regulators properly

It has been reported that the Government is going to amend regulations to try to speed up development and drive growth.

The proposals are said to involved a more strategic approach than currently, with regulators less able to block projects but developers having to pay into a fund which will be used to boost nature elsewhere.

Sue Ferns, Senior Deputy General Secretary of Prospect, said:

“The government’s proposal to move to more strategic, regionally based, mitigations for developers is potentially a workable option which could deliver better outcomes for nature than the current site-by-site solutions.

“However it is essential that we get the detail right on these changes, with expert staff at Natural England and other regulatory bodies involved in designing the new system so it really does deliver for nature.

“But the elephant in the room remains the funding of the bodies responsible for this vital work. Underfunding these agencies has been bad for nature and for economic growth, with lack of staff causing further delays to projects. If the government wants to speed up planning decisions while protecting nature, the first step should be restoring the budgets of the Environment Agency and Natural England so they can invest in recruiting and retaining critical expert staff.”