Planning And Infrastructure Bill-What You Need To Know And What it Means For Communities.

Residents across Havering are continuously looking over their shoulder for the next planning application and the loss of more green space. Greenbelt we know is under threat now and our wildlife is being wiped out.

Behind the drive in this build build build is the Planning and Infrastructure Bill put forward by the government. It is a Bill that favours developers and has been dubbed ‘cash to trash nature’. Wipe out ancient woodland and greenbelt, and throw a few quid into the planting of saplings to make up for it.

But what do residents know about this Bill that could allow their greenbelt land to be built on?

Here is a summary of the Bill.

• Purpose of the Bill
  • Aims to deliver 1.5 million homes during this Parliament.
  • Accelerates approval for 150+ major infrastructure projects.
  • Streamlines planning rules to cut delays in housing and infrastructure delivery.
• Infrastructure Reform
  • Simplifies the approval process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs).
  • Shortens consultation periods and limits scope for judicial reviews.
  • Speeds up connections for clean power projects with a “first ready, first connected” rule.
  • Supports long-duration energy storage and introduces community benefit schemes for households near projects.
• Planning System Overhaul
  • Councils can set cost-recovery planning fees and reinvest locally.
  • Mandatory training for planning committee members.
  • A national scheme of delegation moves many decisions from councillors to planning officers.
  • Requires Spatial Development Strategies (SDSs) – regional frameworks for housing and infrastructure – with government powers to intervene.
• Environmental Measures
  • Introduces Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs), setting national standards for environmental mitigation.
  • Developers to pay into a Nature Restoration Levy/Fund instead of project-specific offsets.
  • Fund supports strategic conservation projects run by Natural England.
  • Originally criticised as “cash to trash” – amendments now exclude irreplaceable habitats (ancient woodlands, chalk streams).
• Development & Land Use
  • Expands powers of development corporations to deliver large-scale housing and regeneration projects.
  • Reforms compulsory purchase rules – faster digital notices, streamlined compensation, and quicker land acquisition.
• Oversight & Implementation
  • Gives Ministers wide powers to set regulations, with limited parliamentary scrutiny.
  • Phased implementation after Royal Assent – some measures apply immediately, others via secondary legislation.
• Supporters Say
  • Unlocks stalled housing projects and clears infrastructure backlogs.
  • Strengthens local planning teams with more funding.
  • Provides certainty for developers, investors, and self-builders.
• Critics Say
  • Risks weakening environmental protections and biodiversity safeguards.
  • Undermines local democracy by centralising decision-making.
  • Councils fear they will be forced into unrealistic housing targets.
  • Environmental groups still see the changes as a threat despite concessions.
  • Wildlife under threat.

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