Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure developers contribute financially to environmental and biodiversity improvements in the districts in which they are building.

The Planning for the Future White Paper sets out our intention to bring forward a quicker and simpler framework for assessing environmental implications which encourages opportunities for environmental enhancements to be identified and pursued early in the development process. The Environment Bill includes measures to make biodiversity net gain mandatory, requiring developers to ensure habitats for wildlife are enhanced.

Contributions from developers play an important role in delivering the infrastructure that new homes, and local economies, require. Local authorities can currently obtain these contributions by charging a Community Infrastructure Levy on new development, and by negotiating section 106 planning obligations with a developer. In 2018/19, local authorities negotiated over £150 million towards open space and the environment through section 106 planning obligations. The Planning for the Future White Paper proposes to reform the current approach to developer contributions by creating a new, single system, the Infrastructure Levy, which local authorities will be able to use towards open space and environment. The consultation on Planning for the Future closed on 29 October 2020, and we will be responding formally.