Half of required nature enhancement features missing in new builds due to enforcement gaps

A new research summary published by the RTPI shows new housing developments are delivering just half of their mandated ecological features, raising urgent concerns about biodiversity and the need for more effective monitoring and planning enforcement.

The findings, from a study led by the University of Sheffield’s School of Planning and commissioned by the wildlife charity Wild Justice, examined 42 developments granted planning permission after 2012.

The research spanned nearly 6,000 homes and over 291 hectares of land across five Local Planning Authorities.

The results show that just half of the nature enhancements required through planning conditions were delivered, dropping to 34% when excluding newly planted trees.

Key findings include:

• 39% of trees identified in planting plans were either missing or dead
• 75% of bird and bat boxes were not installed
• 83% of hedgehog highways were absent
• 100% of invertebrate boxes were not in place

The study highlights a lack of monitoring and enforcement due to drastically under-resourced enforcement teams, unable or lacking the skills to monitor the ecology of new developments.

RTPI research has shown that 80% of planning enforcement officers believe there are insufficient staff to manage the workload, and 41% of local authorities lack the ecological expertise necessary to implement biodiversity net gain policy (BNG) effectively.

In a policy briefing, the RTPI warns that the new BNG policy, while a promising tool for nature recovery, is at risk of being undermined without stronger guidance, monitoring, and investment.

The RTPI has called on the Government to require developers to proactively report on BNG implementation and maintenance and establish national monitoring to track BNG progress and effectiveness

Dr Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the RTPI, said: “We are currently in the midst of a global nature emergency. Urgent action is needed to ensure the planning system protects biodiversity, with proper resources for post-consent enforcement.”

Malcolm Tait, Principal Investigator and Professor of Planning at the University of Sheffield, said: "Our research shows that housebuilders are not delivering the ecological enhancements that are required as part of planning consents. What we have revealed is a huge, systemic issue and an urgent need for the planning enforcement system to be given the resources it needs to protect wildlife from harm.”

Kiera Chapman, Co-Investigator and Postdoctoral Researcher in Attention, Flourishing, and the Humanities at Oxford University said: "This research shows the importance of paying attention to real world outcomes. So much work in the current planning system is focused on the production of virtual documents, plans, and spreadsheets that we've taken our eyes off the concrete results on the ground.

“Developers are taking advantage, and the consequences for people and ecology are devastating. With new ecological policies in the offing, we urgently need to refocus our attention, and fund the parts of the planning system that can rectify this situation. The way we plan and build needs to be more responsible - we have to take the climate and biodiversity crises seriously!"