Baroness Coffey:

Moved by Baroness Coffey

335: After Clause 87, insert the following new Clause—“Pre-application biodiversity audit(1) Before a relevant planning application or application for development consent may be considered by a planning authority or the Secretary of State, the applicant must carry out and submit a comprehensive biodiversity audit of the proposed development site.(2) A “relevant planning application” means any application for planning permission, development consent, or reserved matters approval that involves—(a) land disturbance exceeding a prescribed area,(b) the creation or alteration of buildings exceeding a prescribed footprint or volume, or(c) any development within or adjacent to a site of ecological designation or significance.(3) For the purposes of this section, a “comprehensive biodiversity audit” means an assessment of the existing habitat types and their condition, and the ecological features present on the site and within its immediate vicinity, sufficient to establish a robust baseline biodiversity value.(4) The biodiversity audit must—(a) be undertaken by a suitably qualified and competent ecological professional,(b) employ a recognised methodology for habitat classification and condition assessment, and(c) include, but not be limited to, an assessment of habitat distinctiveness and ecological connectivity potential.(5) The results of the biodiversity audit, including a baseline biodiversity value calculation, must be submitted as part of the planning application or application for development consent.(6) A planning authority or the Secretary of State must not consider an application referred to in subsection (1) to be duly made unless the requirements of this section have been met. (7) The Secretary of State may, by regulations, make further provision about—(a) the prescribed areas, footprints, or volumes for the purposes of subsection (2),(b) the methodology and scope of biodiversity audits under subsection (3) and (4),(c) the qualifications and competence of professionals undertaking biodiversity audits, and(d) any exemptions from the requirements of this section for specified types of development or sites of negligible biodiversity value.”

My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 335, tabled by my noble friends Lord Grayling and Lord Randall of Uxbridge. As I mentioned earlier, unfortunately they cannot be here at this stage. Their Amendments 335 and 336 are somewhat self-explanatory. It is important to have audits and that there is consideration of the baseline. I know we have had considerable debate on this—it seems it is just the nature of how debates happen in this place, depending on the groupings—so I do not wish to detain the Committee excessively by covering old ground.

My noble friends put a significant amount of detail into what qualifications anyone should have to undertake the audit and on having a recognised methodology. I think this is intended to make sure that we have consistency right across how audits are done. It has been a long-standing criticism of this part of the Bill that, if you do not know where you start, how do you know where you are going? The Government have sought to address some of those criticisms, but these amendments, in particular Amendment 335, are trying to put in the Bill a common starting point so that the overall improvement test of being significant or material, wherever we end up, can be achieved.

On Amendment 336, again, there are some technical elements in here. For the first time I have seen the phrase in an amendment, in proposed new subsection (4), “in an accessible manner”. Of course, all documentation from the Government and arm’s-length bodies should be published in an accessible manner, but this would ensure that the details of the biodiversity mitigation decisions are made very public, for everyone to see. That recognises how difficult it sometimes is and how often FoIs get rejected by a number of government bodies, and so having this in the Bill has merit.

Amendment 341, which I have tabled, is rather straightforward: it is about allowing ponds. I am conscious that over two-thirds of ponds that existed in England in the 19th century have now disappeared. Ponds support two-thirds of freshwater species, providing an ideal habitat for invertebrates such as whirligig beetles, damselflies and dragonflies, and they are a key hunting ground for flycatchers, warblers and many other birds which rely on insects for prey—including swifts, which we have debated at some length.

Ponds are also a vital habitat for amphibians, including natterjack toads, common frogs and smooth newts, and the decline in pond habitats therefore has had a negative impact on UK species abundance, with one in six species currently at risk of extinction. Ponds are also a nature-based solution to the growing risks of flooding and drought. They help to hold water on the land. They slow the flow of water during periods of heavy rainfall, thereby helping to prevent flooding downstream. In periods of drought, ponds can act as a natural reservoir, storing water on the land when it is scarce.

Creating ponds can require planning permission. I have received a briefing from the Freshwater Habitats Trust, which is positive about this, although it is concerned about the potential size of what I propose. I have tried to propose in this amendment, as a permitted development right, something about 50 metres by 50 metres—about the size of the Olympic swimming pool in Stratford, to give noble Lords a sense of the proportion if they were fortunate enough to go there for the Olympics or since. I am not looking to suddenly have commercial fishing lakes, fish farms or other things around the country as a direct consequence of that. However, I am keen that they become an opportunity for sustainable farming, as the Wildlife Trusts commended in their briefing.

I commend to noble Lords a visit to the Felixstowe Hydrocycle, which I accept would not necessarily be covered directly by this permitted development right. Water is one of our most precious resources. I have referred to it before in acknowledging the contraction of abstraction rights coming in 2027 and building on the spirit of the Corry review, which wanted to consider some simple deregulatory approaches. Indeed, former Secretary of State for Defra Steve Reed mentioned how it was vital to try to make it easier to have small-scale reservoirs for farmers. I have tried to provide a straightforward amendment which would enable this to happen.

I am conscious that the Government will make decisions on resources. The nature-friendly farming budget seems set to be cut, regrettably, and I am concerned that ponds may not be managed so much for wildlife. I am also concerned, after the success of the Felixstowe Hydrocycle, that other similar projects suddenly will have enormous fees to go ahead or be considered when this is a mutually beneficial source of water for many—for nature and for farmers right around the country. When those fees start to become more expensive than the cost of doing the project, you can understand why farmers and landowners may not be quite so content.

In terms of removing unnecessary red tape, that would fit the Bill. In terms of thinking through some of the other concerns, apart from the one raised by the Freshwater Habitats Trust about commercial fishing lakes or fish farms, I am sure we could consider how they could be dealt with. Nevertheless, I hope that the Government will look at this carefully, because we need to try to make it as straightforward as possible for nature-friendly farming and for nature to thrive and survive in the future. I beg to move.

My Lords, Amendments 339 and 345 are in my name; each provides critical innovations for the protection of nature and heritage trees in England.

The new Clause proposed by Amendment 339 would introduce wild belt as a legal category in planning considerations and require the Secretary of State to establish protections within six months of the Bill’s passage. The purpose is clear: wild-belt designation would permanently safeguard nature-rich areas and their associated ecosystems, extending well beyond the traditional boundaries of green belts or isolated wildlife reserves.

The UK faces a biodiversity crisis, with only around 3% of England’s land effectively managed for nature, an insufficient figure compared with the country’s 30% by 2030 target for habitat restoration. Current planning policy has lacked a tool for protecting sites in recovery, or those being actively restored to higher ecological value. Amendment 339 would fill this legislative gap, empowering local planning authorities and strategic bodies with guidance for identifying, protecting and reporting on wild-belt sites, and promoting public access to nature-rich spaces.

Wild belt would operate alongside existing designations, such as green belt and sites of special scientific interest, creating new, joined-up areas that enhance ecosystem connectivity. Crucially, wild-belt designation encourages the restoration and protection of not only land but water bodies and wetlands, and I am delighted to be in the same group as the noble Baronesses, Lady Coffey and Lady Bennett, standing up for both ponds and trees. In the long term, it will help address habitat fragmentation, support climate resilience and benefit public health. Natural England estimates that green spaces such as wild belt can save the NHS approximately £2.1 billion annually, through improvements to mental and physical health—a testament to their broad social, as well as ecological, value.

The new clause proposed by Amendment 345 would establish heritage tree preservation orders, responding to a major gap in current tree preservation order law. Existing TPOs focus on amenity, but heritage trees—those of significant historic, ecological or cultural importance—require elevated protection and clear statutory recognition. I thank my noble friend Lady Tyler, the noble Baroness, Lady Young, and the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, for supporting this amendment.

The scale and significance of England’s heritage tree resource are striking. The Ancient Tree Inventory records over 233,000 ancient or veteran trees. Academic modelling suggests that there may be 1.7 million to 2.1 million across the country, indicating underreporting, and therefore associated risks. A single heritage oak tree can support roughly 2,300 species, so the harm or loss of such trees has outsized impacts on biodiversity. Amendment 345 gives planning authorities new powers to issue dedicated preservation orders and sets higher penalties for any damage. The shocking loss of the Sycamore Gap tree underlines the need for this—along with the Whitewebbs oak in Enfield, which has been mentioned by my noble friend Lady Tyler. It would also require advertising of heritage status and associated legal obligations, and develop partnership agreements for long-term management.

Crucially, Amendment 345 would create a statutory register for heritage trees, giving Natural England responsibility for identifying, publishing and maintaining the list. This would promote transparency, consistent protection nationwide and proactive stewardship, not reactive enforcement after harm has occurred. Owners and occupiers would be compelled to take reasonable care of heritage trees and would be liable for costs if the state must intervene, setting a clear expectation for shared custodianship.

This tiny amendment is like an acorn. If it could be planted in this Bill, it might grow into a mighty oak, spreading its branches throughout the nation, and protecting our heritage trees. I hope that the Minister agrees.

My Lords, I support the noble Baroness, Lady Grender, on Amendment 345 on heritage trees, to which I put my name. This amendment echoes the key provisions of my heritage tree Private Member’s Bill, which, alas, ran out of road at the last ballot. It remains in my heart, and I shall continue to re-ballot it on every possible occasion.

The noble Baroness, Lady Grender, has ably made the case that heritage trees are really important for history, culture and biodiversity, but they have remarkably little protection and are threatened by development, by deliberate damage—as with the Sycamore Gap tree—by inappropriate management or by sheer neglect and lack of management. The provisions of this amendment would bring protection to these important trees, and there is already the beginnings of a register, as proposed by the amendment, in the Ancient Tree Inventory. The Government have shown signs of interest in this in the past and asked the Tree Council to investigate and report on the issue. The Tree Council submitted its report in spring 2025, and concluded that trees of high social, cultural and environmental value are only indirectly protected, with significant legal gaps, and recommended the development of a “robust and effective system” to ensure that they are safeguarded. Other countries, such as Poland and Italy, have very effective protections.

Examples of socially, culturally and environmentally important trees lost in the last few years include the 300 year-old Hunningham oak near Leamington, which was felled to make way for infrastructure projects in 2020. There was a tree in Hackney called the Happy Man tree, which was the named tree of the year in 2020, but was felled in 2021 to make way for a housing development. There were 60 wonderful ancient lime trees in Wellingborough which were felled in favour of a dual carriageway in 2023. There are lots of examples of historic and culturally important trees, as well as their biodiversity significance, simply failing to be protected. I think that the outpouring of grief and rage that arose from the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree shows just how much the public value these trees, and, indeed, that was reflected in the sentencing.

I asked the Government in a Written Question on 17 July what progress they had made in implementing the recommendations of the Tree Council. The noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, replied:

“We are carefully considering expert recommendations laid out in the Tree Council and Forest Research report. It will be important”— note the weasel words here—

“to balance our approach with existing priorities and our statutory obligations. We recognise the value of our most important trees and consider all ancient and veteran trees to be irreplaceable habitats”.

I ask just three questions of the Minister. First, am I right in summarising her response to my Written Question as, “Push off: they are irreplaceable habitats already. We aren’t going to do anything more to proceed with this report and protect them”? Secondly, if that is not the case, when and if will the Government come forward with an action plan following the Tree Council and Forest Research report? Thirdly, if they are not going to respond to the Tree Council report with an action plan, will she accept this amendment? I look forward to her response.

My Lords, I support my noble friend Lady Coffey’s Amendment 341, which refers to ponds. She was quite right to mention floods and drought. I would just like to follow up on that and remind your Lordships what happens with flood and drought. It is the loss of topsoil that is so damaging to farms. If one has ponds, one can collect the topsoil before it does further damage. It does further damage in two ways.

First, if you are near a chalk stream, you get silt going into the chalk stream, which is destroying the environment of the chalk stream. A chalk stream should not have silt in it. I remember speaking in the House last year, I think, about chalk streams and how a sudden thunderstorm had turned a chalk stream from being a crystal gin-clear stream, as it should have been, into a dirty brown river, and the damage that that was doing to the environment of the chalk stream.

Secondly, if the water catchment area goes into a reservoir, a huge amount of topsoil is filling up reservoirs. One might look at a reservoir once it is full of water and think, “Gosh, that’s a really big reservoir”, but one finds that actually a third of it is silted up from years of run-off from the adjoining land. Having ponds that stop that must be a good idea. They can easily be sited in areas of unproductive farmland.

I also notice the interpretation of a pond. My noble friend was absolutely right to mention that this should be permanent or seasonal. With the recent flooding we have had, there has been some terrible damage to farmland, sometimes where a pond would have stopped the damage. It would not be a permanent pond, it would be a seasonal pond, but it would help to reduce the damage to farmland from the run-off of the heavy rain. I hope that the Government will look at that amendment particularly carefully.

My Lords, I shall speak chiefly to the amendments in the Green group’s name in this diverse but very important group. I will briefly mention Amendment 345, already powerfully and poetically spoken to.

In the discussion, we heard so many sad stories of the trees we have lost. As a Save Sheffield Trees campaigner, it made me think of two magnificent specimens in Sheffield: the Chelsea Road Elm and the Vernon Road Oak in Dore, where communities had to make enormous efforts—including risking life and limb and arrest—to save those trees. The amendment would create a mechanism to make sure that those efforts could be put towards more constructive activities, rather than defending what is already there.

I shall speak chiefly to Amendment 346 in my name, which calls on local authorities to report on land contamination, raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, in both groups. My amendment raises Zane’s law. I have essentially tabled it before, to the Building Safety Act and the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act, when they were passing through the House. The whole campaign for Zane’s law has developed significantly since then. This is a probing amendment, because a lot has happened since we last discussed this, when the Minister was then sitting beside me on the Opposition Benches and expressing interest in the issue.

It also offers the Government a suggestion for at least a partial way forward. This is a very urgent issue, which has been acknowledged. Recently, in July, the Mayor of London backed a Zane’s law, pushed very much by London Assembly Member, Zack Polanski. Just a few days ago, a motion moved by the Fire Brigades Union at the TUC conference, also backed by the NEU, Unison, Unite and the CWU, called for a Zane’s law.

There have been many new noble Lords since the last time we discussed this in this House. Zane’s law is named after the seven year-old Zane Gbangbola, who died in February 2014 during flooding of the River Thames at Chertsey in Surrey. Zane’s parents, Kye and Nicole, know that he was killed by toxic hydrogen cyanide gas from a former waste dump. His father was left paralysed by that gas. That is not what the inquest says, but everyone knows that is the fact. Indeed, I note that Zane’s parents recently had a meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss the Truth About Zane campaign and to see what could be done to finally get the record set straight.

This is about an issue that directly affects many people. In June, I held a Zane’s law summit here in Parliament, acknowledging that current UK regulations on contaminated land are grossly inadequate and a threat to the safety of many, particularly given climate breakdown, rising sea levels, increasing rainfall and flooding. That summit heard from campaigners around the country on very significant issues. The case of Zane is about a historic landfill which was closed off many decades ago. There are ongoing, immediate landfill issues which are not being properly dealt with, and which Zane’s law would deal with more broadly.

I have to acknowledge and give all credit to the Government that the then Environment Secretary, Steve Reed, came to the summit, where he said that the Government knew that there needed to be more transparency about contaminated land and that they would publish a new state of contaminated land report in spring next year. One thing I am looking for from the Minister today is a report on how that is going—a reassurance that progress is being made. The Secretary of State said at that meeting that the department is developing a land remediation pathfinders scheme to provide financial support to councils to remediate land that is contaminated. With this amendment, I hope to hear from the Minister about what progress is being made. Of course, we have seen a change of personnel in her department since then, but I would like to hear what is happening.

I also want to raise a further issue, which has been raised with me. I will understand if the Minister wants to write to me about it. As the pressure and the campaign for Zane’s law grow, I am hearing reports that landowners might be selling what they know to be contaminated land, even if it is not properly identified and fully understood, and trying to basically dump it before further action is taken. Does any agency or institution have a duty to record, report or interact when there are such disposals or purchases? We know that there is a big issue coming; how can we ensure that innocent buyers and communities do not get dumped with land like this?

I come now to Amendment 346A, tabled by my noble friend Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, which fits more closely in this group, dealing as it does with trees. As the noble Baroness, Lady Grender, said, we are going backwards in terms of biodiversity and on issues around trees and so on. According to the State of the UK’s Woods and Trees 2025 report, roughly 40% of our ancient woodlands, the UK’s most biodiverse temperate habitat, are being damaged by plantation forestry, making their restoration a priority to meet the Government’s 2030 nature recovery targets. Here is a truly shocking figure: in 2023, 6 hectares of damaged ancient woodlands were restored, but the target for the year was 5,000 hectares—so six hectares versus 5,000 hectares.

Crucially, this amendment would create a duty for the appropriate forestry authority—in many cases, this will of course be the Forestry Commission—undertaking any planning or development function relating to forestry land, or taking any part in any exercise in such functions, to prioritise achieving the targets under Sections 1 to 3 of the Environment Act 2021 and targets in the environmental improvement plan, as well as following, of course, their duties under the Climate Change Act 2008. This would ensure that the Forestry Commission took all reasonable steps to contribute to the legally binding targets for nature recovery and climate mitigation and adaptation.

I think that I have previously debated this issue with the Minister. The Forestry Commission’s current legal remit is outdated. Its primary duty, as established in the Forestry Act 1919, is to promote timber production, so that is the job it is being given. There is only a vague conservation duty, which was added in 1985, a very long time ago. That 1985-added duty lacks clarity and enforceability and does not align with the UK’s environmental targets. We need to do this simply to protect nature and to act on the climate. If the forestry estate is open to renewable development through the Bill—and eventually the Act—it is vital that its decisions do not undermine irreplaceable habitats. Updating the Forestry Commission’s remit is timely, necessary and, as we know, widely supported by the public and the conservation sector.

My Lords, I have the last Amendment in this group. I very much support my noble friend Lady Coffey on her ponds amendment. We are short of ponds in the landscape, generally, and they should not be hard to create. I like the idea of wild belt, but I am not convinced that we can compel anyone to create a natural environment in this country. We lack the natural systems that would maintain a natural environment. Anything in this country has to be managed, but to have places set aside for nature and properly managed seems a much better concept than a green belt. It is much easier for people to enjoy and much easier to look after.

My amendment says that we should recognise that construction and demolition activities cause disruption to nature, much as we recognise that wildlife can cause disruption to growing crops. The Government have recognised this in relation to wind farms; they accept the damage to wildlife that wind farms cause. What we do causes damage to nature. If I was to put on my house a bird box and a bat box, there would not be a single month in the year when I could repaint my house without some risk of disturbing wildlife. We need to take a realistic attitude to this, which I hope is what my amendment does.

My Lords, I rise to address the amendments in this group. There are some important amendments here, some that raise interesting concepts and some that are apparently sexy but may be difficult to implement. Biodiversity is vital to preserving our ecosystems, which in turn provide clean air, water and food. It holds significant cultural, aesthetic and economic value, supporting industries such as tourism and agriculture. I thank my noble friend Lady Coffey for moving the Amendment in the name of my noble friend Lord Grayling concerning biodiversity.

Amendment 335 seeks to ensure that a biodiversity audit is incorporated into the planning application process or application for development. I recognise the potential merit in integrating biodiversity considerations at this stage in the planning process and I keenly await the Government’s response. I agree entirely that, as far as EDPs are concerned, one must do an audit at the beginning to know what one has before one can say later whether it has improved, got worse or stayed the same—I hope that the Government will correct me if I am wrong—but I think that my noble friend’s amendment may refer generally to planning applications, where a balance has to be struck. I can see the benefit of doing an environmental audit beforehand, when it might speed things up and cost less, but doing it afterwards might also speed things up and cost less. I would like to know what the Government’s thinking is.

I understand that, before I joined Natural England, about eight years ago it reached out to HS2 and said, “We know that you’ll be doing a lot of work on the route. You may come across some biodiversity problems. Talk to us in advance and we’ll see if we can sort it out”. I understand that Natural England was told, “Pooh, pooh. We don’t need you involved in this. We know what we’re doing”. By not involving Natural England in the early planning stage, HS2 hit the bat problem, which is when it invented the £110 million tunnel. So there can be merit in getting nature bodies and the developers involved with Natural England early in the planning stage.

Amendment 336 calls for transparency in offsite biodiversity mitigation decisions. If the amendment were to pass, the Government would be required to publish a statement setting out the scientific basis for that decision. Government accountability is a principle on which Members on both sides of the Committee agree and I thank my noble friend for his contribution and my noble friend Lady Coffey for moving the amendment.

I also thank my noble friend Lady Coffey and the noble Baroness, Lady Grender, for their amendment contributions. These amendments seek to provide important protections for potential wild-belt areas and their associated ecosystems. I particularly like my noble friend’s amendment on ponds. It is an excellent idea and, if the Government do not accept it, I would like to hear a good reason why.

On heritage tree preservation orders, I can tell the Committee that on 27 September 2023 I was driving back from Newcastle along the Hadrian’s Wall road—well, my wife was driving and I was sitting in the passenger seat, giving my usual expert guidance on how to drive, as men often do. She said, “We’ve driven past this gap for years. Why don’t we go and look at it?” I said, “Well, you can go if you like. I’m not going to try to stagger up there. It’s about to rain”. That night, a few hours later, those swine cut down the tree. It grieves me that I did not try to stagger up to look at it. The Sycamore Gap tree was iconic. The word “iconic” is not in the amendment, but the tree, although it was not of cultural significance, was of iconic significance. I like the concept of the amendment. My only worry is that the definition seems rather wide and that it lands it all on Natural England, which is not geared up to do this.

If this amendment were to pass, I suspect that, within one month, Natural England would have a million letters from people saying, “You must ledger this tree, that tree and that tree”. It could not just say, “Thank you very much, it’s all in the register now”, and tick the box; it would have to investigate every single one, it would have to see whether it was genuine or not and, no doubt, there would have to be a review process, as people would demand that a tree be taken off the list or added to it. So, I like the concept and I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Young, that something must be done, but I also agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, that we need to do it properly and find an easy way to do it that protects all the right trees, but not at a huge bureaucratic cost.

On wild belt, I am rather loath to support another statutory protected landscape designation. We had the national parks and the AONBs; now we have protected landscapes. I say to the noble Baroness that it is not as easy as it was in 1945, when John Dower was driven round by his wife and within a month picked, I think, 10 national parks: “Oh, I like that area, that’s the Lake District, we’ll make that a national park. There’s another, that’s the Peak District National Park. That is it”. I can tell the Committee that it is impossible now for Natural England to increase the size of a national park by five square metres without consultation after consultation and fulfilling different statutory duties. It is just impossible, I think, to do what the noble Baroness wants in this amendment without a huge bureaucratic and costly exercise.

However, I am also aware that outside some cities, there is, if I may put it bluntly, a lot of scruffy land which could benefit from being wild belt, but I think we should leave it to the local planning authorities to make that decision and implement it.

Finally, I thank the noble Baronesses, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle and Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb. They speak to important issues concerning contamination levels and conservation duties, which are important and worthy of the Government’s attention. I look forward to the Minister’s response to their points and my points.

My Lords, I thank noble Lords for their contributions to this debate. I will talk first to Amendment 335, which was moved by the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey. It would require developers to establish a biodiversity baseline before development begins. Through biodiversity net gain, developers are already required to provide a site baseline, using the statutory biodiversity metric, as part of their planning application for Town and Country Planning Act developments. The biggest developers are also going to be required to do so from May next year, when it is extended to nationally significant infrastructure projects.

On Amendment 336, the Government agree that it is important that the use of offsite biodiversity gains by developers is justified. As part of the statutory biodiversity net gain framework, decision-makers need to take account of the biodiversity gain hierarchy, which prioritises, first, the onsite delivery of net gains. Again, this is distinct from the nrf, but we are not convinced that there needs to be a further duty on the decision-maker to prepare a statement justifying each offsite gain. The biodiversity net gain framework already requires a developer to provide information about why the use of offsite gains is required as part of the approval of the statutory BNG plan. It would be disproportionate to require decision-makers to prepare a further statement justifying the use and would add additional burdens on local planning authorities, especially for their ecologists, for little further benefit.

Turning to Amendment 339, which I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Grender, for tabling, I will say that the National Planning Policy Framework is clear that decision-makers should contribute to and enhance the environment by protecting and enhancing valued landscapes and sites of biodiversity value. Local plans are required to identify, map and safeguard components of local wildlife-rich habitats and wider ecological networks, including the hierarchy of international, national and locally designated sites of importance and areas identified by national and local partnerships for habitat management, enhancement, restoration or creation. Furthermore, the Environment Act 2021 introduced local nature recovery strategies, which are now being rolled out across the country.

These spatial strategies for environmental improvement are developed in partnership with local stakeholders and enable strategic authorities to agree a set of priorities for nature recovery. They also map out the most valuable existing areas for nature, which are often underpinned by other protections in the planning system, and areas which could become of particular importance for biodiversity. Strategic and local planning authorities will need to take local nature recovery strategies into account when planning for development under legal provisions in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act and the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Where it is appropriate for large areas of habitat to be conserved or enhanced, local nature recovery strategies provide a mechanism to do so.

Local nature recovery strategies allow local areas to determine the best opportunities to take action for nature restoration, while also planning for any development needed in the area. In February, we published guidance setting out the role of the local nature recovery strategies in the planning system, and we are exploring how we can best reflect them in policy through our wider work.

The application of planning policy through up-to-date strategic development strategies and local plans, which consider local nature recovery strategies, will ensure that local people are equipped to make decisions about where habitat enhancement and creation can drive the best environmental outcomes. Therefore, while I understand the intent behind this amendment and agree that promoting nature restoration at scale is an important objective, the legislative framework to enable this is already in place.

On Amendment 341, we recognise that ponds can deliver important biodiversity benefits, and we want to encourage them in the right locations. We also recognise the benefits of ponds for farmers, providing valuable sources of irrigation during dry periods. The noble Earl, Lord Caithness, mentioned the recent flooding; of course, things such as balancing ponds can be really helpful.

Permitted development rights are a well-established part of the planning system. For example, under an agricultural permitted development right, farmers can create ponds and on-farm reservoirs, subject to certain limitations and conditions, to manage and control impacts. Meanwhile, home owners can create new ponds in their gardens under householder permitted development rights.

Changes to permitted development rights are brought forward through secondary legislation as amendments to the general permitted development order. A public consultation would ensure that the views of the public, including those who would benefit from the rights created, are taken into account. It would also allow for consideration of any potential impacts of the proposal and how these might be mitigated.

The amendment seeks to provide a national planning permission for ponds across the whole of England, regardless of whether one would be appropriate in a particular location, such as on land used for public recreation or in an area where it could increase flood risks. To ensure that ponds are properly located, there are circumstances in which a planning application is appropriate. On that basis, we cannot support the amendment. However, I assure noble Lords that we will continue to keep permitted development rights under review.

Turning to Amendment 346, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, while obviously I understand the ambition to improve information on the state of contaminated land in England, I also believe that the policy intent of her proposals is largely met by existing legislation and statutory guidance.

Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 provides a framework for identifying contaminated land in England and allocating responsibility for its remediation. It provides a legal definition of contaminated land and lays out the responsibilities of local authorities and the Environment Agency for dealing with contaminated land. These responsibilities include local authorities inspecting their area to identify where land may be contaminated, and maintaining a public register of land that has been identified as contaminated land. Local authorities and the Environment Agency are also required to ensure that “appropriate persons” remediate these sites.

Additionally, there is a statutory obligation for local authorities to report to the Government on the state of contaminated land in their area when asked to. Defra commissioned the Environment Agency in November 2024 to complete a state of contaminated land survey, and a subsequent report, and we will soon release the survey to local authorities. Regarding the noble Baroness’s question about Zane, I just want to clarify that the previous Secretary of State, Steve Reed, did meet Zane’s family, and it was following that meeting that the state of contaminated land survey was commissioned. We are looking to release it to local authorities to respond to very soon—this month—and we are aiming to publish the final report in spring next year.

Given that the existing frameworks are already embedded into legislation and guidance, Amendment 346 would cause unnecessary duplication and distraction for local authorities. Therefore, while obviously I completely appreciate the noble Baroness’s concerns, I would ask her not to press her amendment, and I will check the other questions she asked and get back to her in writing.

Amendment 345, introduced by the noble Baroness, Lady Grender, wishes to create the new category of “heritage trees” and give them further protection. The National Planning Policy Framework recognises the benefits from natural capital and ecosystem services, which trees and woodlands provide. We are clear that opportunities should be taken to incorporate trees into new developments, and that existing trees should be retained whenever possible. Moreover, development that results in the loss or deterioration of ancient woodlands or ancient or veteran trees should be refused unless there are wholly exceptional reasons, and a suitable compensation strategy exists.

Aside from these protections at national level, there are tree preservation orders, a key method of protecting trees and woodlands in England; and authorities are already expected to take into account the historic, cultural and ecological value of a tree. Local planning authorities are also required to notify relevant parties when the order is made so that they can encourage good tree management, particularly when determining planning applications. Local officers have powers to enforce protections, and an order makes it a criminal offence to cut down, prune, uproot, or wilfully damage or destroy a tree without the local authority’s written permission. Regarding the Sycamore Gap, the people who cut that down have actually gone to prison.

We are concerned that the creation of a new category of heritage trees could cause confusion and add to burdens on both Natural England and local authorities without the commensurate benefits. My noble friend asked about the Tree Council report, and I can say that Defra is working on a tree strategy, which I am sure she will take great interest in when she sees it.

Amendment 346A seeks to place an additional nature duty on forestry authorities when exercising their functions in planning, development and infrastructure on protected landscapes. We share the aims of the amendment and agree that public bodies should fully contribute to nature conservation and biodiversity recovery.

However, the objectives of the amendment are already embedded in the statutory and policy framework that forestry authorities operate within. Where renewable electricity development on the public forest estate is consented through the development consent order process for NSIPs, the national policy statements will apply, and the Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy stipulates:

“In considering any proposed development … the Secretary of State should take into account … its potential adverse impacts, including on the environment, and including any long-term and cumulative adverse impacts … at national, regional and local levels”.

Furthermore, forestry authorities already have relevant and bespoke duties applicable to all land, and this balancing duty is a statutory obligation laid out in the Forestry Act 1967, requiring them to balance their forestry-specific duties with the conservation and enhancement of natural beauty. Although I welcome the spirit of the amendment, I do not believe it is necessary to introduce this new statutory nature duty, as outlined in it.

Amendment 346DC, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, seeks to remove potential obstacles which may arise from Sections 1 or 3 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. We recognise the desire to clarify the position of development when it comes to exceptions from these obligations and offences towards wild birds. However, where impacts are unavoidable, development activity can already be exempted as lawful action in the existing list of exemptions under Section 4 of the Act. We will, however, carefully consider how to better manage the interactions between protected species and development both through the NRF and as part of our wider efforts to improve the regulatory landscape.

Having said all that, I hope that the noble Baroness will feel able to withdraw her amendment.

My Lords, we have had another one of those odds and sods groups, with the desire to perhaps insert or add permitted development rights. I am sure that the Minister will recognise my disappointment about what she said about ponds. She will be aware that this is the only opportunity for Peers who are not Ministers to try to get some secondary regulations through and enacted. I am conscious that there was sufficient encouragement for many others in the aims of trying to improve nature, which is what many of the amendments were about. With that, I beg leave to withdraw Amendment 335.

Amendment 335 withdrawn.

Amendment 336 not moved.