Copyright- Russell Savory
MPs: Keep Amendment 130* in the Bill
The new Planning and Infrastructure Bill has reached the final stages of debate before it becomes law. Please note this Bill mainly affects England.
With your support, The Wildlife Trusts have worked hard to try to limit the impacts this Bill will have on wildlife and wild spaces.
On 13th November, despite some great speeches from MPs of all parties backing the amendments, the Government whipped its supporters in the Commons to reject both Amendment 130* and Amendment 94*.
The Bill now returns to the Lords, who will vote on whether to insist on the amendments, after which there may be another vote by MPs
The Wildlife Trusts are continuing to urge MPs to support the amendments by writing to Ministers and speaking and voting for changes when they are next debated.
There has been an incredible number of emails that nature-lovers have sent to MPs and we need to keep going. The more pressure we can keep up, the more likely it is we can win vital changes for wildlife, even at this late stage.
Nature needs us to keep fighting!
✅Please ask your MP to keep Amendment 130 (40) today! Even if your MP voted to keep the amendment this time or abstained from voting in protest at the government, we need them to do the same again.
Without Amendment 130 the system presented in this new Bill will lead to the removal of protections for sensitive habitats and species. It’s therefore crucial that the Government does not take Amendment 130 out of the Bill, now the Lords have put it in. The amendment maintains protections for wildlife and wild spaces.
💚 It's not only about Amendment 130* - we also need keep amendment 94* in the Bill to protect chalk streams.
Your email to your MP also references this.
The Lords have also voted to add another crucial nature amendment to the Bill. Amendment 94 (38) would create new protections in the planning system for chalk streams. Chalk streams are wildlife-rich freshwaters, which we have a special responsibility to protect – 85% of the worlds chalk streams are in England. They are suffering from mounting pressures, including from development, putting their future at risk. MPs like to say warm words about these much-loved rivers. Now they need to show they mean it, and vote to keep Amendment 94 in the Bill to protect our chalk streams before it is too late.
💪Ready to act?
Time is tight! This is the last time MPs will have the chance to vote on this Bill. MPs need to see the same strong message from all their constituents - so you don't need to add anything more to your email, just hit 'send'. However, if you want to share thoughts about this amendment, or about the Bill, please type in the box, and we will use them in our advocacy work in the coming days.
What is Amendment 130?
Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) create a different way for developers to meet legal requirements for addressing the environmental impacts on legally protected habitats and wildlife. This should only be applied in areas where they can help speed up development without harming nature. It stops EDPs from being used in places where they could do a lot of damage to nature but do little to help development.
Amendment 130 wouldn’t slow down housebuilding. Most delays have come from nutrient pollution, which EDPs would still be able to tackle. Protected species aren’t causing major delays—bats, for example, were behind just 0.8% of planning refusals that were appealed in 2024.
Why is Amendment 130 important?
• It would give developers and councils more certainty over where EDPs would apply.
• It would limit EDPs to impacts on water and air, which are easier to implement.
• It would exclude protected species and habitats from EDPs, avoiding serious harm to nature. This aligns with the Government’s own precautionary principle, which says to be cautious when the science is uncertain.
Without this amendment, EDPs could be applied too broadly, creating confusion and delays. This would put legally protected wildlife and wild places at risk. Developers and councils don’t know where or how EDPs will apply. Amendment 130 would bring clarity and focus, helping both nature and development
Why are legally protected species and habitats at risk?
If a rare habitat is destroyed, the damage can be irreversible. A report from Wildlife and Countryside Link found that strategic approaches like EDPs don’t work for most protected species, except possibly great-crested newts. Species like Bechstein’s bats, hazel dormice, hedgehogs, grey seals and the large blue butterfly are especially at risk.
Read Wildlife and Countryside Link's report here
Read the latest Briefing and news here
*A note on amendment numbering.
On 10th November, both amendments returned to the Commons and were given new numbers for this stage. Lords amendment 130 on EDPs is now known in the Commons as amendment 40 and Lords amendment 94 on chalk streams is known in the Commons as amendment 38. To avoid confusion, The Wildlife Trusts will continue to principally refer to Lords amendments 130 and 94, with the Commons numbers added afterwards in brackets where possible.