The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 ('the Act') introduces one of the most significant shifts in environmental regulation for developers in over a decade. Part 3 of the Act establishes a new framework for managing ecological impacts through Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) and a mandatory or elective Nature Restoration Levy (the levy), which contributes to the newly created Nature Restoration Fund (NRF). These reforms fundamentally reshape how environmental obligations are discharged in the planning system, with substantial implications for developers, local authorities, and landowners.
Understanding the role of Environmental Delivery Plans
Part 3 of the Act empowers Natural England to prepare EDPs, approved by the Secretary of State, to identify environmental features likely to be affected by development and the conservation measures required to offset that impact. EDPs specify protected sites or species, the conservation status of these features, required mitigation measures, and the associated costs. Once an EDP applies to a category of development, developers may, where permitted, opt to pay the levy rather than undertake traditional on‑site mitigation.
What are the new obligations for developers?
Section 72 of the Act sets out the legal basis for the levy, allowing developers to request to pay the levy where an EDP applies. Once accepted by Natural England, payment of the levy legally substitutes for certain obligations under the Habitats Regulations 2017, Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.
In some circumstances, payment becomes mandatory, removing the developer’s ability to rely on conventional mitigation routes such as obtaining consents for operations affecting SSSIs or complying with specific habitats legislation. This represents a significant change in how environmental compliance risk is managed across project lifecycles.
For those specific impacts, traditional mitigation routes, such as obtaining consent for operations affecting SSSIs or relying on standard licensing pathways under habitats legislation, are no longer available. However, developers may still need to comply with other environmental assessment or licensing requirements for impacts outside the scope of the EDP.
How the Nature Restoration Fund operates in practice
The levy flows into the NRF, which the government describes as a central pot enabling more strategic, large‑scale interventions to support nature recovery. Rather than bespoke, site‑specific mitigation, the fund aims to deliver coordinated conservation actions that offer greater aggregate ecological benefit, addressing longstanding barriers in planning caused by fragmented regulatory requirements.
Legal and commercial implications for developers
For developers, the levy and NRF create new opportunities but also new risks. While the mechanism promises faster consent processes and reduced project‑level mitigation costs, professional bodies warn of potential complexities, uncertainty around EDP scope, and concerns that levy payments may be insufficient to meet environmental objectives.
Developers should therefore monitor emerging EDPs closely, conduct early due‑diligence on whether their schemes fall within mandatory levy categories, and assess implications for risk allocation in land agreements, planning strategies and environmental assessments.
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