A key element of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 was to unlock developments otherwise constrained by their potential impact on designated environments. To this end the Act introduced ‘Environmental Delivery Plans’. EDPs set out the conservation measures that will be taken to address the impact of specified types of development on protected habitats and species. The EDPs are to be managed primarily by Natural England. The EDPs will be paid for by developers.
The legislative provisions for financing the EDPs are the Nature Restoration Levy Regulations 2026 (“the Regulations”).
The first draft of the Regulations has recently been published.
Natural England can make participation in the EDP mandatory or discretionary. If discretionary then developers will be able to opt into the regime where an EDP provides the mitigation type their development needs to proceed. Natural England will make this clear for each EDP.
The levy rates (i.e. how much a developer will have to pay towards a specific set of nature restoration efforts) will be calculated individually for each EDP. For discretionary EDPs this cost, relative to the cost of the developer’s ability to provide their own mitigation will be a key workability aspect of the scheme.
It is up to Natural England to create a charging schedule for each EDP, setting out the index linked Levy rates (which can be changed) whilst paying attention to:
Procedurally, the regime borrows heavily from the structure and administrative logic of Community Infrastructure Levy (which has been running for 15 years or so):
The finer details provide for:
We expect detailed guidance from the Secretary of State in due course.
While the Levy is intended to provide simplified form of environmental mitigation. By opting into the Levy developers effectively cede control over mitigation delivery to Natural England’s strategic programmes rather than finding tailored solutions at project level often delivered over the life of the development.
Unless funding the EDP is mandatory, then unlike CIL developers will have an option to pay the Levy. Developers will not just be considering the Levy cost and cashflow (with instalment payments being a possible option), but also both ease of delivery and ongoing maintenance liabilities of onsite scheme, as well as securing a clean site exit. Clarity on a developer’s best option may not be secured until the permission is granted.
For some sites onsite delivery of mitigation may be physically impossible. For these sites, subject to the cost, choosing to pay the Levy may be the only option to secure planning permission and build-out their development.
Despite what we know so far, the release of further government guidance on the Levy, the EDPs and charging schedules in due course will be vital for developers considering opting into the Levy, meaning anticipatory preparation for it at present is difficult to achieve. Staying ahead of EDPs and Levy will be another important task on developers desks, and we will continue to help with further bulletins and knowledge sharing.
