The government is putting pressure on wildlife organisations to drop their opposition to its planning bill, the Guardian has learned.
Some of Britain’s biggest nature charities including the RSPB, Wildlife Trusts and the National Trust say the legislation risks widespread destruction of nature. The charities want a key section of the legislation, part 3, scrapped entirely because they say it is a “licence to kill nature”.
Leading figures from the organisations were summoned by the government to a meeting last Friday where officials put forward nine amendments to the language of the bill, which they say offer greater environmental protections. In return for accepting these, ministers want the nature groups to stop their campaign, the Guardian has established from several sources.
Angela Rayner, the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, has had a statement supporting the bill prepared for the charities to sign, which says: “These amendments will provide confidence that our reforms will truly deliver for nature and help us recover our most precious sites and species as we work to get Britain building.”
Peers will debate scrapping part 3 when the bill goes before them on Thursday in the House of Lords.
One participant in the meeting said their organisation “will take some persuading”.
Another source from a charity said: “There is a lot of pressure. There is this deal trying to be struck by Angela Rayner’s department, essentially so that we go quiet, or even better that we back the bill. But at the moment what’s been offered in the meetings is not enough for us; we are not convinced.”
The environmental charities summoned to the meetings – the RSPB, National Trust, Wildlife Trusts, and Wildlife and Countryside Link – have 8 million members between them.
Some members are concerned at the nature of the proposed deal and the methods being used. One source said: “They cannot make deals in backrooms like this, [the NGOs] have to come to us with this. There is a great deal of unease around this. We are not going to stop campaigning against this bill.”
As yet there has been no agreement from the NGOs to either sign the statement or stop their campaigns.
Richard Benwell, the CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, confirmed that the groups were talking to the government. He said: “As it stands, the bill skews the scales much too far away from the crucial safeguards nature needs. We hope ministers make the significant and wide-ranging amendments needed to reset the balance for nature and ensure that the planning system gives strong protection to vulnerable habitats and species and contributes to nature recovery.”
The bill has been deemed a “regression” of environmental law by the chair of the government’s own watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection, and two independent legal opinions. It would allow developers to sidestep current environmental law and build without assessing the damage to protected wildlife and habitats, as long as they pay a levy into a central nature recovery fund.
The Guardian has revealed that more than 5,000 of England’s most precious protected sites are at high risk of being destroyed by development as a result, according to legal analysis.
The planning bill is central to the government’s promise to build 1.5m homes and 150 major infrastructure projects in this parliament. Rhetoric from Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and Rayner has pitted nature as a blocker to development. But the government’s own impact assessment states there is almost no evidence for this claim.
More than 100,000 people have signed a petition against the bill and thousands have contacted their MPs over the threat to nature.
On Thursday, peers will begin line by line consideration of the legislation. Amendments being considered include one from Lord Roborough, Conservative shadow Defra minister in the Lords, to scrap part 3.
Alexa Culver, an environmental lawyer with RSK Wilding, said major problems with the bill had not been addressed by the suggested changes. “Back-room bargains are being made about our natural environment and our economy, which are leading to the ‘worst of all worlds’ amendments,” she said.
A government spokesperson said: “We’ve inherited a system that has blocked homes, infrastructure and economic growth while doing nothing for nature’s recovery, and we are determined to fix this. We have committed to only act in legislation where we can confirm to parliament that the steps we are taking will deliver positive environmental outcomes.
“We note the support of the Office for Environmental Protection for the intentions behind our reforms and continue to carefully consider their advice. Our planning and infrastructure bill will mean a win-win for both nature and the economy, and we are always listening to views about how we make sure our reforms are as effective as possible so we can leave a lasting legacy of environmental improvement.”
