Embedded Files
Discover the latest news from the Planning for Nature and the latest outputs from the team here.
New research reveals invertebrate biodiversity is greater in urban sites with nature-based solutions
New research reveals invertebrate biodiversity is greater in urban sites with nature-based solutions
What are the biodiversity impacts of nature-based solutions? Frequently, biodiversity benefits of NBS such as sustainable drainage systems (SUDS) are presumed and not demonstrated.
Tom Wild and Karl Evans from the Planning for Nature team recently published new research through their Horizon Europe project Conexus, addressing this key knowledge gap. They find that invertebrate biodiversity is greater in urban sites with nature-based solutions, with implications for funding and ecosystem restoration.
This new article, part of Tom's special issue on accelerating urban nature-based solutions uptake, in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, is now online, free to share and download!
Invertebrate richness, abundance and biomass was assessed in three large cities, using an observational approach, in Barcelona, Buenos Aires and São Paulo. As the intensity of urbanisation increases, invertebrate biodiversity decreases. Across all cities, NBS sites had greater invertebrate richness, biomass and abundance than control sites. Notably, biodiversity gain is greatest in more urbanised locations where biodiversity is lowest at the control sites.
The work has substantial implications for the cost-effective design and deployment of NBS interventions in urban locations in the Global North and South. These themes are being taken forward by the planning for nature team's research on local nature recovery strategies, and biodiversity net gain in the UK.
Read more here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2026.129368
Research shows that BNG is not a block to planning applications being approved
Research shows that BNG is not a block to planning applications being approved
The latest research from the University of Sheffield, shared in the latest 'Wildlife and Countryside Link' (WCL) blog, suggests that Biodiversity Net Gain is not a ‘block’ to development receiving planning permission. The analysis, which analysed 235 major housing developments, found that whether planning applications were approved or rejected, the accompanying BNG metrics offered similar percentage levels of mitigation.
Read more here: https://www.wcl.org.uk/research-shows-that-bng-is-not-a-block-to-planning-applications-being-approved.asp
Second Planning for Nature TCPA blog launched
Second Planning for Nature TCPA blog launched
The second of two blogs on planning for nature recovery reflects on the gap between the policy rhetoric and the experience of practitioners on the ground.
The blog reveals that though there are many new policies meant to help the environment, nature is still treated as a secondary issue and bioversity is sidelined.
Read more here: https://www.tcpa.org.uk/can-we-see-the-woods-from-the-concrete/
Planning for Nature features in latest TCPA blogs.
Planning for Nature features in latest TCPA blogs.
Focus groups held as part of the Planning for Nature project are the subject of the latest Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) blog series.
The first of two blogs by the team was published on 11th February 2026, and reveals efforts to ensure that planning systems in England and Scotland contribute to nature recovery are frustrated by a complex array of operational and technical barriers.
A second blog reflecting on these focus groups will be published next week. This will take a deeper look at the systemic challenges restricting our ability to plan for nature, and the gap between political rhetoric and action on the ground.
Read more here: https://www.tcpa.org.uk/has-planning-for-nature-got-lost-in-the-woods/
The Future for Planners book awarded RTPI Patsy Healey Award
The Future for Planners book awarded RTPI Patsy Healey Award
Co-authored by 'Planning for Nature' team members Dr Andy Inch and Prof Malcolm Tait, The Future for Planners was awarded the Royal Town Planning Institute's Patsy Healey Award.
Of the award, Prof Tait said: 'We are very pleased that The Future for Planners won the Patsy Healey award. In the book we sought to understand the changing contexts in which planning is done, and we are seeking to continue this in the Planning for Nature project. Renewed emphases on economic growth, and a rapidly changing policy environment are changing the ways in which nature is considered in planning, requiring us to step back and look at the bigger picture to apply these learnings to projects such as 'Planning for Nature'".
New research provides insights into impact of biodiversity offsetting
New research provides insights into impact of biodiversity offsetting
New research published by Planning for Nature project team academics Dr Kiera Chapman and Prof Malcolm Tait has warned how current Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) policies are creating a "many-headed hydra" of profit-making rather than simply protecting the planet.
Published by the Journal of Political Ecology, you can read more here: https://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/jpe/article/id/6186/
Page updated
Report abuse