Natural England to scale back planning advice under reforms
Natural England will provide fewer tailored responses to planning consultations, as changes designed to speed up decision-making take effect from this week.
The agency, which is charged with protecting England’s natural environment, says the number of complex planning proposals it’s being asked to advise on has has limited its ability to focus on more important cases.
But under policy reforms published today, Natural England will focus on proposals which “present the greatest risks or opportunities for nature”, in a bid to prioritise complex and strategic cases – with most other requests receiving a “no comment” response or signposting to standing advice.
The changes are part of government planning reforms, some of which were proposed in 2025, which allows for greater flexibility in how Natural England exercises its statutory planning advisory role.
However, the organisation says it will continue to provide pre-application advice to developers through its discretionary advice service, which will in turn reduce its input during the formal planning stage.
“Any additional advice will be prioritised based on the scale of development, likely impacts and the availability of suitable mitigation,” said the policy paper, released today.
Natural England says the changes will reduce the amount of planning applications it deals with which require “no, or very little, impact on the natural environment”, such as minor householder planning applications and listed building consent applications.
The changes will be introduced gradually, with Natural England continuing to work closely with local planning authorities, developers and other partners as the new approach is implemented, it says.
Natural England chief executive Neil Hornby said: “This change of approach will help us focus our expertise where it can have the greatest impact for nature, while supporting efficient decision making across the planning system.
“Natural England is laser focused on advancing nature recovery and meeting key legal Environment Act targets, while supporting the government’s ambition for good growth in every postcode.”
