Don’t Let the Planning & Infrastructure Bill Bulldoze Nature

Before the General Election, Labour promised to restore nature. Less than a year later, their flagship infrastructure bill is threatening to do the exact opposite.

UK Youth for Nature stands with The Wildlife Trusts, the RSPB and a coalition of environmental voices in calling for the removal of Part 3 of the Planning & Infrastructure Bill - a section that masquerades as supporting 'Nature Recovery' but, in reality, gives a green light to destroy vital habitats and strip back the few legal protections wildlife has left.

According to new analysis, bats and great crested newts - the species scapegoated by politicians - were relevant to just 3% of planning appeal decisions in 2024.

So why are they being blamed?

As pressure mounts to build housing and infrastructure quickly, nature is being painted as the problem. A convenient scapegoat for deeper systemic failures:

• Decades of underinvestment in planning departments

• A broken housing system that prioritises volume over quality

• Policy decisions that have ignored environmental limits and community needs

Labour’s rhetoric frames nature as an obstacle to growth, but the evidence tells a different story: it’s poor planning and short-termism that delay development - not wildlife.

What is blocking progress is a refusal to invest in smart planning that delivers both homes and habitat. Environmentally resilient communities need both.

Part 3 of the Bill undermines:

• Legal safeguards for wildlife and ecosystems

• The UK’s international environmental obligations

• Trust in government promises to restore nature

As young people fighting for a liveable future, we reject the false choice between nature and development. We need both. But this Bill puts the economy in one corner and everything else - our rivers, hedgerows, pollinators and protected landscapes - in the firing line.

Join us! Demand your MP stand up for nature and vote to remove Part 3 of the Planning & Infrastructure Bill. Use this link to take action in 2 minutes:

https://wtru.st/fix-the-bill