Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is calling for ambition and clarity from the Government after welcoming the commitments to nature outlined in the King’s Speech 2024. The Trust is responding to the new Government’s ‘unwavering’ commitment to the environment as part of the promised Planning Bill, which aims to address the housing crisis through planning reform and accelerated housebuilding. While the Trust supports these goals, it also emphasises the crucial need – and strong economic case – for housebuilding to enhance, not harm, nature in order to ensure the UK meets its legal nature recovery targets. Debbie Tann MBE, CEO of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, has said:
“We welcome the new Government’s commitment to environmental protection as part of planning reform. We recognise the need to tackle the housing crisis – but it is vital that development does not compromise the health of our natural environment or legal targets for nature’s recovery. “As a Trust that works in partnership with local councils and developers to ensure nature’s recovery is a primary consideration, we have seen there is a robust economic case for ensuring that new housing projects enhance nature. “Integrating green infrastructure and creating markets for nature-based solutions not only helps protect biodiversity – but also brings significant local benefits through improved air and water quality, flood protection, and enhanced wellbeing for residents.”
Clear and robust environmental protections are essential for delivering high-quality, popular developments, the Trust says. These protections are said to offer an economic opportunity to support markets for key ecosystem services, benefiting associated businesses and landowners engaged in green design, habitat creation, and related fields. In the Solent region, the Trust has proven that it is possible to work successfully with developers, local government and regulators to develop an effective and affordable nature-based solution which mitigates the environmental effects of new developments. Through its Nutrient Reduction Scheme, the Trust has rewilded unproductive land previously used for intensive agriculture at Wilder Little Duxmore and Wilder Nunwell, reducing pollution in the Solent while also restoring habitats for wildlife and bringing additional environmental gains. The Trust has called on the new Government to retain the crucial Nutrient Neutrality rules which protect our waterways from further nutrient pollution as a result of new developments, while enabling investment in nature-based solutions which are an important tool for tackling the water quality crisis across the country. Debbie adds:
“Through our Nutrient Neutrality schemes, we have already proven a cost-effective way to unlock housebuilding while also mitigating the environmental impact of new developments – and those methods have the added benefit of helping people, communities and nature too. We call on the new Government to provide assurances that those rules will remain in place. “Environmental protections are not just about conservation; they are core to delivering good quality developments that people want to live in. Business leaders we engage with understand the value of these protections and recognise the economic opportunities they bring too. “Above all, we need certainty and clear, ambitious environmental policy from the Government – to underpin developing markets for nature enhancement and give certainty to investors in vital schemes such as Nutrient Neutrality. “We look forward to now working with the Government and other stakeholders, in order to ensure its environmental commitments and goals are realised.”
Why cant we just build a few highrises in addition to filling the hotels with illegal immigrants, this would boost the economy.
How about you just say to them – – no money, no hotel room, no food, no help, no nothing – if you turn up here you will be homeless, hungry and skint and on the streets – they won’t be so keen then
those that are here- pack them off back to where they came from -france or face destitution on the streets.
The island should start building upwards, that way more homes can
be built using less land and making more use of air space.
It’s a win win situation for everyone.
You’ve obviously never been to HongKong, try crossing the road on the weekend with all the traffic! Building needs to be limited and the population of the Island stabilised. There would be a much smaller need for permanent accommodation for the less well off if all the run down buildings were redeveloped as social housing, along with limiting the spread of Airbnb and second homes.
With these pledges from the new Government does this mean the planning applications to build hundreds of houses on greenfield sites will be dismissed and developers told to build on brownfield sites instead? Sadly I doubt it – I for one have absolutely no confidence in the openness or honesty of the planning process on the Island.
the island isn’t getting any bigger, so any houses are at the expense of the remaining green land – the island cannot cope with more and more people.
we do not have a housing problem – we have a population problem – get rid of the spongers, benefit leeches that moved here, immigrants and other low lives that weren’t even born here and voila, no more housing issues.
Urban Lefties versus Eco Lefties.. You couldn’t make it up and get what you voted for. Loser is our precious environment with this Goverment.