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New Wild Justice report highlights how Natural England is failing to designate the most important sites for nature - Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).
New Wild Justice report highlights how Natural England is failing to designate the most important sites for nature - Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).
Natural England is failing in its duty to designate the most important sites for nature, known as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), new research from the Universities of Sheffield and Oxford has found.
This failure means that nationally important sites for wildlife have been lost to development, with many others at high risk of harm from inappropriate building projects nearby.
The ‘Unprotected Nature’ report, published by Wild Justice and written by Dr Kiera Chapman, Professor Malcolm Tait and Dr Rob Davies, reveals how, since the 2024/5 financial year, Natural England has quietly paused its process for designating new SSSIs. This information only came to light because Natural England accidentally shared confidential internal memos with a local campaign group.
Read more here: https://wildjustice.org.uk/unprotected-nature-report/
Colchester Gazette: https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/26043321.middlewick-ranges-catch-22-sssi-putting-site-risk/
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/
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