Chris Packham's charity to sue Angela Rayner over planning blitz
The charity co-founded by naturalist and BBC presenter Chris Packham has threatened legal action against Angela Rayner after she claimed her planning reforms would not water down environmental protections.
Wild Justice, the conservationist charity, has demanded that Ms Rayner, the Housing Secretary, correct a statement made to MPs in March when she described the new planning and infrastructure Bill as a 'win-win for development and for nature'.
Ms Rayner told the Commons that the Bill, which applies to projects in England and Wales, would not reduce the existing protections safeguarding the environment from construction projects.
However, the charity has issued a 'pre-action protocol' to Ms Rayner urging her to 'correct the parliamentary record', claiming that her statement was inaccurate, and that it will apply for a judicial review if she does not.
Ruth Tingay, a co-director of Wild Justice, said: 'It's important that the secretary of state corrects her statement on the environmental ramifications of this Bill because to continue to portray it as a 'win win' for nature and people is inaccurate and will mislead MPs into voting for something that is likely to have catastrophic consequences for protected species and habitats.'
As part of the planning shake-up, developers will be able to proceed without having to prove that there will be no negative environmental impact on the site. Instead, they will be required to pay into a fund intended to offset potential damage elsewhere.
Wild Justice commissioned planning lawyers to draw up a legal opinion, which states the Bill will weaken existing levels of environment protection.
Mr Packham told The Guardian, which first reported the news: 'Good people fought long and hard to put proper wildlife protection into law. And it helped, but hasn't stopped the relentless decline of the UK's biodiversity. And now, in a time of absolute crisis, we need to save every last tree, bird, butterfly or bug.'
'So how do the Government think it's going to if they smash those laws up? I really hope they rein it in and bow to the love, passion and determination of a nation of animal lovers.'
Earlier this month, the Office of Environmental Protection (OEP), the watchdog for environmental protection, warned that the changes would be a 'regression' of existing measures.
Dame Glenys Stacey, the OEP chairman, said the Bill 'would have the effect of reducing the level of environmental protection provided for by existing environmental law'.
A spokesman for Ms Rayner's Housing Department said: 'We are introducing the Nature Restoration Fund to unblock the delivery of much-needed homes and infrastructure, funding large-scale environmental improvements across whole communities and introducing robust protections that will create only positive outcomes for the environment.'
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