The environmental impact of planning reforms needed to meet the Government’s
housebuilding targets will be examined by the Environmental Audit Committee
(EAC) as it launches its first inquiry of the new Parliament, ‘Environmental
sustainability and housing growth’.
An early pledge for the new
Government was its stated ambition to build 1.5 million homes in England over
the next five years.
As part of the commitment, the
Government has proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework in
order to release more land for development: these changes were subject to
consultation over the summer.
Published responses to the
consultation have questioned whether the proposed reforms can maintain current
levels of environmental protection.
In its new inquiry the Committee
is seeking views on the nature and climate implications of the planning
reforms. From protection and enhancement of the environment to promotion of
active travel, reduction of embodied carbon levels and implementation of local
nature recovery networks, the wide-ranging terms of reference seek to deliver a
comprehensive overview of how the proposed planning reforms can deliver housing
growth while maintaining protection of the environment.
An evidence session will be held
on Wednesday 20 November to serve as an introductory session to some aspects of
the full inquiry, considering the extent to which the Government has already
taken into account environmental implications of the reforms.
Environmental Audit Committee Chair, Toby Perkins MP, said:
“Britain has a housing crisis, a climate crisis and
a nature crisis. All three must be tackled in tandem and addressing one must
not be at the expense of another. The Government’s ambitious target to build
1.5 million homes in the next five years – 300,000 a year – is significant and
we must ensure that climate and nature protections underpin any such reforms to
our planning system.
“Conscious that changes to the National Planning Policy
Framework have already been proposed, the Committee is prioritising this area
as our first inquiry. We will be examining whether environmental protections
are being sufficiently considered in the reforms, and if not, what the
Committee can recommend to Government to ensure that they are.”
