A System Designed to Fail:
The Planning and Infrastructure Act (PIA), first introduced in March 2025, was central to the government’s plan to address the housing crisis. But, as you might remember, the PIA came with a heavy price for nature. We all tried to stop this through our petitions to those in power, urging the government not to offer the public a false choice: growth or nature. But, sadly, we lost.
It’s true, Britain does need solutions to the deep-rooted housing crisis. We cannot go on with the status quo where people cannot afford to own what is a human right: adequate housing. However, whilst supporters argued the Act would finally resource planning departments and unlock funding for environmental recovery, it’s clear that this Act was not the answer.
Having been pushed through without proper impact assessments, deeply concerning inconsistencies remain embedded in the PIA’s very fabric. Its ambiguity and refusal to safeguard our ecosystems remove the limited environmental protections that currently exist, while leaving local authorities and Natural England to carry financial and operational burdens they cannot cope with.
Most damaging of all, the Act abandons the mitigation hierarchy, the long‑standing framework that prioritises avoiding harm before attempting restoration. In its place, the PIA introduces the Nature Restoration Fund, allowing developers to bypass avoidance and mitigation entirely. What was once a deterrent has shifted to a system where developers will not be held to account for destructive actions; they will just be invoiced once species and ecosystems have already been buried. This is the backdrop for what we view as a ‘cash‑to‑trash’ initiative, the point where consequences stopped being consequences at all.
The Natural Restoration Levy deepens this danger. Marketed as a mechanism to support restoration projects, it functions as a monetary workaround that developers can easily absorb. It assumes those with resources can afford to pay for the destruction of landscapes we will be ecologically bankrupt of in the near future. By eliminating proportionate levies and removing the protections embedded in the mitigation hierarchy, the system accelerates environmental loss while pretending to fund its repair.
But you might be wondering, if this has already become law, why are we talking about it again? Yes, the law has passed, but how it will be implemented is still playing out. And the signs are worrying.
Britain’s Nature Crisis: Why the Stakes Are So High
Two weeks ago, the Government published the draft for the new regulations, the mechanism by which the PIA will be enacted. Whilst these drafts did address some concerns, we remain deeply worried about fundamental dangers embedded within the very foundations of this piece of legislation, as its levies will legitimise corporate violence against our vulnerable landscapes.
Britain is one of the most nature-depleted nations in the world, with 16% of our species now at risk of extinction, according to Natural England. Yet, our government risks further decimating hope to revitalise the limited biodiversity we have left by imposing an Act that clears the path for its destruction.
The harvester working in a forest. Renewable resources theme. photo – Forest Image on Unsplash
A Levy Without Logic:
As the PIA was rushed through as a headline, rather than a coherent, detailed piece of legislation, the details have only now been discussed and proposed. These regulations point to the weakness of the entire system, as confusion, loopholes, and systemic disconnection facilitate the destruction of our critical ecosystems.
Structurally, the proposed levy system is incredibly flawed, as there is no requirement for Natural England to notify local planning authorities when levies have been applied. This communication gap not only makes it harder for under-resourced, overworked local authorities to enforce levies meant to hold developers accountable, but also puts them at risk of breaking their legal obligation to do so.
Natural England won’t even be able to access the entire fund to do their job upfront. Developers will pay into the Nature Restoration Fund rather than deliver their own on‑site mitigation, forcing Natural England to pool contributions until an Environmental Delivery Plan is in place and fully financed. That delay is a real problem. Habitats will be damaged immediately, yet restoration may not start for months or even years. In that gap, ecosystems will continue to decline, species will be lost, and the eventual fix will be harder, costlier, and less effective.
The very purpose of the levy must be questioned, as it can be entirely undermined by the whims of the Secretary of State (SoS). The SoS holds the power to change levy amounts even after developers have come to an agreement, meaning that holding developers accountable for damages caused to ecosystems can be doubled or slashed, overshadowing hopes of Natural England to build a significant pot for its restorative projects. This levy, and the Act altogether, is entirely divorced from its purpose: environmental compensation.
The proposed regulations fail to plug these gaps, protecting the CEOs and powerful businesses who threaten the very existence of Britain’s wildlife, culture and environmental essence.
Anti-Manchesterism: Undermining Local Authorities:
The reality is that the PIA was drafted under a different Labour Government than where it’s going now. Andy Burnham's ‘Manchesterism’ is all about empowering local people and regions to have more control over their success. Yet the PIA is the exact opposite. This top-down approach takes powers out of communities.
Shockingly, there is no legal obligation for the nature restoration fund to be delivered locally, contradicting environmental targets set in local plans and undermining the actions of any council that has declared a natural or ecological emergency. This PIA will push regions further into crisis without providing them with the necessary tools to recover. Money that developers would otherwise spend locally will go to the central government, further reducing regional funds during a period where hopes of ‘Manchesterism’ and regional empowerment have risen.
An Act detached from Britain’s people, species and landscape:
We, alongside experts, campaigners and NGOs, warned the Government when the PIA was rushed through. And now we are warning them again. These draft regulations will be harmful to planning, the environment, developers and the general public, all for a cash-grab in the name of quelling a housing crisis. How can the crisis be stopped through the creation of unaffordable homes that allow big corporations to destroy the local environments communities treasure for centralised gain?
The implementation of this Act is not the work of those who truly care about this nation’s issues, but the consequence of political detachment from our landscapes and regional experiences that has plagued the nation for too long.
What’s happening now and what can you do?
The Act may have passed, but the fight isn't over. Whilst the above policies have already been laid before Parliament and are at the scrutiny stage, a line-by-line examination is being held on the 17th of July, allowing us to voice our opposition.
The secondary legislation is moving fast, but there is still a window to act.
Sign Petition: https://www.change.org/p/a-nature-reset-for-government-four-urgent-asks
