The Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill fails to strike the right balance between protecting nature and streamlining the planning process.
When amendments 94 and 130 returned to the House of Commons on 13 November, in the form of Lords amendments 38 and 40, the Government put down motions to disagree, meaning they did not support the amendments. My Conservative colleagues and I voted No to the Government’s motions - in other words, we supported both amendments made by the Lords. Unfortunately, the Government used their super majority to crush any chance of these amendments passing.
My colleagues in the Shadow Housing, Communities and Local Government team, led by Sir James Cleverly MP, have worked across both Houses to push the Government to improve this Bill. Ultimately, however, the Bill fails to balance the need to protect nature with the need to deliver new homes and infrastructure. There remains a grave lack of clarity about how its measures will support ambitions to safeguard the natural environment we all cherish.
I should add that Lords amendments 4 to 30, 34 to 36, and 41 to 117 were agreed to.