© Andy Bartlett
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
There's no time to lose - Act Now!
Thank you to everyone who has taken part in our campaigns to reduce the risks the Planning and Infrastructure Bill poses to nature.
Your voice makes a difference – and there's still time to tell your MP that nature matters to you.
In response to huge pressure the Government amended the Bill to add some environmental safeguards in July. In October the Lords voted to add important protections for chalk streams (amendment 94) to the Bill. Crucially, the Lords also voted to back amendment 130, which would prevent Part 3 of the Bill applying in areas where it could hurt wildlife.
The Bill returned to the Commons for votes on the amendments
On 10th November, both amendments returned to the Commons. They were given new numbers for this stage, which we will refer to in brackets after the Lords amendment number. Over 30,000 of our supporters emailed their MPs asking them to retain amendment 130 (now amendment 40) and amendment 94 (now amendment 38).
On 13th November, despite some great speeches from MPs of all parties backing the amendments, the Government whipped its supporters in the Commons to reject both amendments.
Now the Bill returns to the Lords
The Bill now returns to the Lords, who will vote on whether to insist on the amendments, after which there may be more Commons votes.
The Wildlife Trusts are continuing to urge parliamentarians to support the amendments by writing to Ministers and speaking and voting for changes when they are next debated.
We are grateful for the incredible number of emails nature-lovers have sent to MPs and encourage people to keep going. The more pressure we can keep up, the more likely it is we can win vital changes for wildlife, even at this late stage.
Nature needs us to keep fighting!