Today, the Government announced plans to make housing targets ‘advisory’ for local councils rather than ‘mandatory’, and other measures to prioritise community engagement. This comes after amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, led by Theresa Villiers and Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely, were supported by over 100 conservative MPs.  

 The Trust has been supportive of reviewing the existing planning system, which currently fails to prioritise our natural environment or the needs of the local communities. In particular, the current central government housing targets have failed to address the fundamental environmental limits of an area, leading to inappropriate and ecologically damaging developments across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.   

Hannah Terrey, Director of Advocacy and Engagement of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust says:  

“Habitats across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are on life support as inappropriate housing targets have driven development in the wrong place.  We are constantly arguing over the scraps of land left in the South of England.  Without a fundamental shift in perspective, this space race will drive us towards an unsustainable and uninhabitable future.  With this change in policy to give local decision makers more power to consider local circumstances, let’s seize this opportunity to plan properly, considering our environmental foundations at the start of the process rather than as an afterthought or obstacle.    

“Thriving communities need a healthy natural environment. We depend upon it for the water we drink, the food we eat and the air we breathe. Nature can protect us from the effects of the climate crisis and contribute to our sense of place, home and wellbeing. If we put nature at the heart of the planning system, it will reap benefits for generations to come.  And by ‘front-loading’ nature’s needs we will also give house builders, planners and communities the certainty and confidence they need to go ahead and build great places to live.”  

“We hope the government grasps the wider opportunities in front of them to embed law and policy to make sure we have this sensible and sustainable approach to planning”.  

The Trust is calling on Government to use forthcoming policy changes to ensure that land for housing can be strategically assessed alongside that required for nature’s recovery, food production and renewable energy and only delivered where there is the functioning environmental infrastructure to support it.  The Trust would like to see: 

The Government’s upcoming Land Use Framework rolled out as a tool for making decisions that balance the need for homes, agriculture, infrastructure and nature’s recovery.   

Strengthened links between the Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) and the planning system. The LNRS should be regarded as material planning considerations to inform decisions about land-use. They should inform Local Plans, with Local Planning Authorities required to justify if and why the Local Plan ignores priorities identified in the relevant LNRS.  

A new planning designation, Wildbelt, to allow land of low biodiversity value to be restored for nature, connecting existing habitats and protected landscapes, and giving wildlife the space it needs to thrive. Wildbelt would also help ensure the planning system is better suited to addressing the climate and nature crises, rather than prioritising short-term inappropriate development.