Dear Rachel Reeves MP,

Ever since last year’s election, we have been hopeful that the Labour Government would be a driving force to secure a more positive future for people and for wildlife. The quality of our human lives is intimately entwined with the health of our environment, which is in turn dependent on the diversity and abundance of the wildlife we live alongside.

We have been encouraged by some decisions by some Government Departments and some of the ambitions outlined in the Spending Review, including interventions into the water industry and the refreshed commitment to fund peatland restoration. Sadly, these positive decisions are being comprehensively overshadowed by the ongoing negative and public attack on nature, which you are personally engaged in.

On behalf of our 44,000 Members across Yorkshire, I want to express our dismay and disbelief that newts, bats and even snails are being scapegoated as the reasons you chose to give for housing developments not going ahead in England. The evidence irrefutably proves that bats and great crested newts were a factor in just 3% of planning appeal decisions. In the vast majority of cases, more complex human factors are the real blocker; including economic viability calculations, skills shortages in planning and construction sectors, and pressures on material supply chains.

Yorkshire is home to some of the UK’s most precious landscapes, wildlife, and ecosystems, which underpin the health, wellbeing, and prosperity of our communities. Far from being an obstacle to economic growth, a thriving natural environment where all these creatures play their functional role is the foundation on which sustainable development depends. Clean water, fertile soils, flood protection, and carbon storage are all essential services that the interplay of our wildlife creates across our ecosystems; services that are expensive, time-consuming or impossible to reinstate once destroyed.

The challenge facing the Government is not a binary choice between development and nature. We urgently need both new homes and infrastructure, and we also need - and are legally bound to - reverse the decline in nature. These aims are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, the most forward-looking developers and investors now recognise that projects which integrate nature deliver long-term value, resilience, and public benefit.

In your own constituency, where hundreds of our Members care for their local wildlife, there are two good examples of development which seek to balance the needs of people and nature through thoughtful design. 54North Homes in Armley and the LILAC development in Bramley are both delivering homes for wildlife and people. Across the UK, where almost a million Members share our vision, the Swift and Wild report published by The Wildlife Trusts last year clearly demonstrates how achievable this integration can be, and highlights exemplar developments in London, Wiltshire, Norfolk and the Tees Valley.

We have an opportunity to make Yorkshire a national leader in showcasing how nature can recover at scale. Our county is home to two-thirds of British species, something for us to be proud of and a unique opportunity to create a biodiversity boom! However, our State of Yorkshire’s Nature report published last year shows that over the last 200 years, nearly 2,000 species have disappeared from Yorkshire and a further 3,000 are now at risk of extinction. In addition to the widely reported declines of hedgehogs, our beloved swifts have declined by 50% in the last 30 years and the range of our water voles has declined by 41%. Fewer than 20% of our rivers are now in good condition – places which are critical to people and wildlife

We need nature to thrive so that people can thrive, as when people thrive, they are healthy, productive and innovative which makes us all more prosperous: the Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill puts this at risk. The Bill is not a ‘win-win for development and for nature’; it is simply a bureaucratic, under-resourced mechanism which will further harm the already critically vulnerable wildlife in our communities. The alterations proposed in Part III of the Bill to the planning system, which currently operates albeit imperfectly to give some protection for nature, will effectively tear up the last lines of defence for our common and rare wildlife. 

It does not need to be this way. Good design can deliver quality homes in rich natural environments which will deliver the short-term growth needed, as well as create high quality and resilient communities for future generations too. 

We can also show how across the country there are examples where through careful planning in multi-stakeholder partnerships, large scale infrastructure can be delivered alongside environmental enhancements. We implore you to consider this more carefully before the existing system which drives good outcomes for people and wildlife is swept away. 

The UK’s growth ambitions will be realised through integrated investments where all sectors can contribute their expertise, capacity and unlock their potential for innovation and efficiency. Strong leadership with clear policy and investments, supported by properly enforced regulations, are key to providing the simplicity and certainty which will achieve make the UK a better place to live for everyone. 

We urge you to reconsider your position and misleading public statements on nature, and we would be delighted to show you some of the remarkable places in West Yorkshire which enrich your constituents lives every day, and which they deeply care for and benefit from.

Yours Sincerely 

Rachael Bice 

Chief Executive