Wildlife Charities Urge Labour to Scrap “Licence to Kill Nature” Clause in Planning Bill

Leading wildlife organisations are demanding Labour remove a key section of its planning bill, which they describe as a “licence to kill nature,” as new research shows that bats and newts are not the cause of major planning delays in England.

The RSPB and The Wildlife Trusts—representing more than 2 million members—have accused Labour of abandoning its environmental commitments. They are calling for the removal of part three of the bill, which would allow developers to bypass on-site environmental protections by paying into a national nature recovery fund intended to deliver compensatory measures elsewhere.

Beccy Speight, CEO of the RSPB, said: “It’s now clear that the bill in its current form will rip the heart out of environmental protections and risks sending nature further into freefall.

“The fate of our most important places for nature and the laws that protect them are all in the firing line. The wild spaces, ancient woodlands, babbling brooks and the beautiful melody of the dawn chorus – it’s these natural wonders that delight people all over the country and support our physical and mental health that are under threat. That cannot be allowed to stand.”

According to the charities’ analysis of 17,433 planning appeals in England during 2024, newts were cited in only 140 cases (0.8%) and bats in just 432 (2.48%), undermining repeated claims by senior Labour figures that these species significantly delay development. Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner have all framed wildlife protections as obstacles to economic growth.

Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said: “Before the general election, Labour promised to restore nature. Under a year later, the chancellor is leading an ideological charge against the natural world despite it being the very foundation of the economy, society and people’s health. Promises have been broken, and millions of people have been betrayed.”

In response, more than 60 conservationists—including broadcaster Chris Packham—along with business leaders and legal experts, have signed a joint statement calling for a pause to the planning and infrastructure bill and a proper consultation on its environmental implications, particularly part three.

Frustration among environmental groups has intensified after Labour MPs and Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook rejected every proposed amendment aimed at strengthening nature protections during the bill’s committee stage. These included measures to better safeguard rare chalk streams and irreplaceable habitats that cannot be recreated through offsetting.

British ecologist Sir John Lawton, one of the joint statement’s signatories, urged the government to halt the bill to allow for meaningful consultation and revision.

British ecologist Sir John Lawton, who signed the joint statement, said the government should pause the bill for proper consultation: “Legal changes of this magnitude should at least follow due process. A hurried competition for last-minute ‘rescue’ amendments to this dangerous bill helps no one, and will surely harm our environment, and our economy on which it depends,” he said.

“Normal, evidence-led, democratic due process is all we are asking for.”

In a separate letter to Environment Secretary Steve Reed, the UK’s main body representing professional ecologists warned that part three would effectively permit the destruction of habitats and species on development sites—based on vague promises that biodiversity might be restored elsewhere in the future.

“[This] is quite evidently a catastrophically wrong approach,” said the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management.

Bennett said the so-called nature recovery part of the bill was a misnomer because in reality it was a licence to destroy nature.

He said: “The Wildlife Trusts and others have offered constructive solutions that would allow the bill to proceed and achieve its aim to accelerate development whilst maintaining strong environmental protections. We’re appalled that these have all been spurned. Nature is in crisis and must not suffer further damage. Much loved places like the New Forest could now be at risk – that’s why we’re now saying the misleadingly named ‘nature recovery’ section must be removed.”

A government spokesperson said: “We completely reject these claims. The government has inherited a failing system that has delayed new homes and infrastructure while doing nothing for nature’s recovery, and we are determined to fix this through our plan for change. That’s why our planning and infrastructure bill will deliver a win-win for the economy and nature by unblocking building and economic growth, and delivering meaningful environmental improvements.”

 

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At Natural World Fund, we are passionate about restoring habitats in the UK to halt the decline in our wildlife.

 

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