Philip Box

Is there anybody who doesn't want public ownership now? Other than those with conflicted interests, of course. Sign the petition, we're nearly at 300k: change.org/nationalise-wa…

We joined almost 60 other leading figures and institutions across the natural environment sector in endorsing a letter to the UK Government addressing the hostile rhetoric towards nature protections. Read the full statement now 📖 buff.ly/9alBtwq #landscapearchitecture

Biodiversity Net Gain is meant to protect nature. But right now, developers can skip it by ticking a box and writing a belief – not providing evidence. No proof. No checks. No fixes for nature. That’s the de minimis loophole – and it needs to go. Read more here: wcl.org.uk/docs/BNG_no_mo…

Last week, the LI co-signed a letter from the CIEEM to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which raises serious concerns over the misuse of the de minimis exemption within the #BNG framework. Read the letter now 📖 buff.ly/VdLZ08M

Biodiversity net gain (BNG) is a critical policy for securing nature’s recovery.

Biodiversity Net Gain at a crossroads: any consultation must close loopholes, not create new ones shar.es/agEZ2N

What’s behind the increasingly shrill calls to disregard nature protections? A peek behind the curtain at the illusionists peddling nature destruction as a public good: wildlifetrusts.org/blog/public-af…

impressive letter entitled 'Letter on concerns regarding the removal of BNG requirements for small sites' - the signatory list should make the government think twice - it is PAGES long! But will it? And what will happen if this letter's ask is ignored? lnkd.in/e9fDzjnj

Biodiversity Net Gain is one of the key mechanisms through which the Environment Act is currently being delivered in practice. Lawyers have raised concerns about how any regressive changes to BNG would sit alongside: 🌿 statutory nature targets 🌿 international biodiversity commitments 🌿 and principles of lawful consultation Legal certainty matters – not just for nature, but for everyone relying on the framework to plan, invest, and deliver.

BY ME in yesterday's @Daily_Express @Keir_Starmer is plunging us towards a nightmare before Christmas – one thing will stop it express.co.uk/news/politics/…

It’s time to voice an ugly truth: I’ve been talking recently {privately} with ecologists, with very senior figures in the environmental NGOs, with activists and lawyers. What they say - privately - is stark: >This Govt is even worse on nature than the Sunak & Johnson Govts<. The best comparator is with the Truss regime, with its #attackonnature. But Truss lasted less long than a lettuce. We are stuck with this lot til 2029. Whether it’s Aarhus, habitats, planning, Starmer’s proposed bonfire of regulations, and on and on and on, both the rhetoric and the reality of Labour on nature are simply dire. Why? Because, just like Truss, they will sacrifice anything for a smidgeon of potential ‘growth’. And because there is no care at all for nature in their dna. They will throw anything under the bus for some possible short-term human material benefit. Never mind that humans NEED nature too! They don’t seem aware of that. … Please repost to express your agreement.

@DanicaPriest I'm glad someone spotted it! 😊

I appreciate the Lord of the rings reference in WCL’s blog on the planning bill. 😁

📢 Over 80 conservation organisations, land-managers and rural businesses have written to Government to warn that exempting sub-0.5 ha sites from BNG would remove 97% of planning applications from the UK’s only national nature compliance market. If the market collapses: private investment in habitat creation stalls, rural jobs are threatened and nature recovery is compromised. Ministers must not shatter the system just as it’s beginning to thrive. Read more 👉 wcl.org.uk/small-site-bng…

Labour has betrayed our birds & ignored us.They’re digging the 🪦 of swifts in the greatest environment betrayal in a generation. Don’t let them get away with it. They put a 3 line whip on a simple brick! What sort of greedy monkey builders are they listening to? Please share.

The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries on 🌍 yet a 🧱is too much of a stretch for Labour to save our swifts.This symbolic 🎥 is for those who care that the existence of swifts is on the line.I hate campaigning but I’ll never give up on the birds.If you care,share🙏

Great to see Peers back Amendment 130 to remove species from the scope of the Planning Bill's mechanisms Link's research showed that there is no robust evidence the Government's approach will work for most species, and could actively cause harm. share.google/RzbzegvcW4I4Dv…

Some holey bricks (like air bricks) are in building regulation 🧱 Others are not ⛔ Swift bricks would help endangered species recover but are not in regulations 🪶 Planning reforms must get #WilderByDesign - including regulation for nature-friendly design like swift bricks to be in new developments 🏡

"As such the Chalk Stream Recovery Pack— which was announced by the previous government— falls short of these wider ambitions and is no longer being taken forward." Well that didn't take long then. Govt abandon plan to save England's chalk streams.

This couldn’t be more important. I’ve read & reread it. If you have heard about the planning bill & care about nature then read this🌳🪦🧱 Wage war on nature to build new homes: that’s Labour’s offer, but it’s a con trick | George Monbiot | The Guardian theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Is anyone else worried there is nowhere near enough public / nature outcry with regards to the absolutely devastating Planning and Infrastructure Bill? Anyone who cares personally and professionally should we doing all they can to STOP PART 3 OF THE BILL.