Image description: A wading curlew foraging in water. Image by Rober So / Pexels.

New planning reforms could push species towards extinction and destroy precious habitats, the UK’s leading nature organisations have warned the government.

The heads of over 30 UK conservation groups have written to Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed and Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook, calling for major changes to the flagship Planning and Infrastructure Bill in order to avoid weakening nature protections, saying the current draft “throws environmental protection to the wind”.

The planning and infrastructure bill, which is at committee stage in parliament, aims to streamline regulations for developers so they can speed up their projects. However, the letter’s signatories say that the bill is “one-sided” and could allow developers to effectively disregard environmental rules and community concerns, increasing the risk of sewage in rivers, flooding and loss of valued woods and parks.

They are instead calling on Ministers to work with environmental groups to deliver the ‘win-win’ scenario that was originally promised by the Government when the Bill was announced. They are also urging the Government to support amendments to the Bill which would protect nature and deliver sustainable development for generations to come.

First national digital model of historical habitats 

ArchAI announced the launch of Lost Landscapes, their new national data service aiming to reveal how the UK’s natural and human environment have changed over time. By combining cutting-edge machine learning with historical cartography, they claim Lost Landscapes can uncover everything from lost woodlands and wetlands to historic boundaries and ponds.