Poorest Face Nature Gap Widens with New Loopholes

New loopholes in England's planning laws risk further marginalizing the poorest communities by reducing their access to green spaces. A recent report highlights that over 7.4 million people in England, including 1.42 million children, reside in areas with severe nature deprivation. This inequality is driven by disparities within towns and cities, and proposed changes are set to worsen the situation.

The biodiversity net gain rules, implemented in 2024, mandate a 10% increase in biodiversity for most new developments. However, exemptions for sites under 0.2 hectares and a proposed exemption for brownfield sites up to 2.5 hectares are being introduced following industry lobbying. These changes are expected to significantly impact deprived areas, where 82% of planning applications are for small sites.

This could lead to a loss of biodiversity equivalent to nearly 11,000 mature trees annually. Furthermore, four times as many potential brownfield homes are located in England's poorest fifth of the population compared to the wealthiest. Charities are urging the government to abolish the brownfield site exemption and implement a secure policy to protect biodiversity net gain from further detrimental changes.

Specific examples, like Croydon in London, demonstrate extreme inequality, with affluent neighborhoods having 73% biodiversity access compared to 24% in deprived areas. Conservation groups emphasize that nature should not be a luxury and that restoring the biodiversity net gain system is crucial for ensuring that all communities benefit from greener, healthier environments.