Subject: Nature Levy Regulations under the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 

Dear [Your MP’s Name]

As your constituent I am writing because I have serious concerns about the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) and believe its Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) need to be reconsidered entirely. 

First I’d like to make you aware of the serious problems within the Draft Nature Levy Regulations recently laid before Parliament, and for which Peers have recently tabled a motion to withdraw 

The Secondary regulations harm developers, planning authorities, Natural England and the general public. Here are some of the many ways in which this legislation is unworkable: 

  • Developers are forced to commit to levies before they know how much they will cost
  • Innocent homebuyers may purchase homes without any warning that enforceable levy fees have been attached to their new home
  • The mitigation hierarchy is not honoured – developers can prioritise ‘value for money’ over nature conservation 
  • They put an extra burden on Local Planning Authorities due to the required reporting to Natural England at every stage 

This is on top of the local loss of democracy and severe environmental concerns already had for the NRF under part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act. The Office of Environmental Protection called the reforms ‘regressive’ saying the proposals ‘lower environmental protection on the face of the law’ and the environmental NGO’s say it’s a ‘licence to destroy.’ 

If a ‘win/win’ for nature and development is the government’s true aim, then the Nature Restoration Fund would be scrapped entirely. A real ‘win/win’ delivers both strengthened protections for our endangered species and encourages sustainable development, but despite Government rhetoric EDPs do neither. At the very least EDPs should be to limited to initial pilots for water pollution (‘nutrient neutrality’).  

This government’s war on nature is unjustified, unpopular and a waste of taxpayers’ money. 

It’s unjustified because there is no evidence that nature is a ‘blocker’ of development. Parliament were misled that EDPs were needed because research shows that bats and great crested newts were a factor in just 3% of planning appeal decisions. Even the government’s own report showed protected species have no substantial impact on housing delivery or high house prices so the problem EDPs are ‘fixing’ doesn’t exist. 

The majority of the British public do not want these reforms. Over 148,000 people emailed their MPs to object to the planning bill through The Wildlife Trusts platform alone. A survey from More in Common showed that 98% of people do not want environmental regulations weakened for development. Even a recent developer-funded poll found that most people were unwilling to water down Biodiversity Net Gain when they tested which standards the public would be most comfortable relaxing to get more homes built. 

England is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and wildlife decline is accelerating. This is precisely the moment when strong legal protections are most needed but instead they are being removed. 

To save our precious biodiversity I ask you to support the following: 

  • EDPs must be legally confined to water and air pollution only. They should not be expanded to include species or habitats. 
  • Give environmental experts and leading nature bodies a seat at the table 
  • End the ‘war on nature’ – dormice, bats and newts are not the enemy 

I would welcome the opportunity to chat about these concerns further.

Kind regards,

[Your name]