STORY
Natural England has changed how it provides advice on planning applications, with its specialists now concentrating on proposals presenting the greatest risks or opportunities for nature. The Government said the revised approach would help accelerate planning decisions by directing specialist resources towards complex and strategically important developments.
Local planning authorities will be expected to use established guidance and standing advice when considering more routine applications, reducing the number of individual consultations handled by Natural England. The organisation will instead seek to engage earlier with major proposals so that environmental issues can be identified and addressed before they cause delays later in the planning process.
Natural England said that its statutory responsibilities and existing protections for habitats, species and designated sites would remain in place. The changes will be introduced gradually and form part of wider Government reforms to the statutory consultee system. Neil Hornby, who began work as Natural England’s chief executive on 1 October 2026, said the approach would allow its expertise to have the greatest impact for nature while supporting more efficient decision making.