Planning proposals to unblock vital infrastructure and drive nature’s recovery

Planning proposals to unblock vital infrastructure and drive nature’s recovery - Defra

A close up image of bees gathering nectar from wildflowers from the side of a house, with the street in the background — Image: Defra

A new Nature Restoration Fund will accelerate infrastructure projects and enable developers to meet their environmental obligations faster.

Part of government’s Plan for Change commitment helping deliver 150 planning decisions on major infrastructure.
Measures will create a ‘win-win’ for nature and the economy, accelerating economic growth.

Measures to unblock much-needed infrastructure projects whilst supporting nature recovery at scale will be included in proposals for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill this year, the Government has announced today as part its Plan for Change (22 January 2025).

These common-sense changes will help to deliver on the Government’s commitment to make 150 major infrastructure project decisions by the end of this Parliament, while also helping to halt and reverse the decline of species and natural habitats. The reforms will help to speed up projects, including new wind farms, railways and roads, gigafactories and data centres across the country.

Under current rules, infrastructure projects must secure mitigation or compensation for environmental harm to some protected sites and species before being granted planning permission, adding costs and delays to the planning process. Developers are required to identify and meet environmental obligations, typically on a project-by-project basis, and this misses opportunities to find strategic solutions with the greatest benefits for nature.