Planning and Infrastructure Bill

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Planning and Infrastructure Bill

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is a proposed UK law aimed at changing planning and environmental rules in England and Wales.

What the bill would do (in simple terms)
- Fewer appeals: it would reduce the maximum number of challenges to planning decisions from three to two.
- Who decides: some planning decisions would move from local councillors to council officers.
- Nature restoration fund: it creates a Nature Restoration Fund managed by Natural England. Developers could contribute money to the fund as part of meeting environmental duties.
- Land and environment rules: it includes provisions about compulsory land purchases and about environmental outcomes reports.
- Other areas: it also covers development corporations and related land issues.

Intro and status
- Introduced in the House of Commons by Angela Rayner, and in the House of Lords by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage.
- Territorial extent: England and Wales.
- Status: pending (still progressing through Parliament).

Public reaction
- Wildlife Trusts described parts of the bill as a “trojan horse,” saying it could enable developers to damage green spaces.
- The Office for Environmental Protection criticized some parts as weakening environmental protections, but supported most of the bill.