new approach announced by the government yesterday (August 18)<\/a> aimed at cutting red tape and keeping planning projects \u201cfirmly on track\u201d.<\/p>\nJamie Robins, programmes manager at Buglife, one of several wildlife groups that had opposed the project, believes it could transform how infrastructure projects are planned around nature.<\/p>\n
He told KentOnline: \u201cThe Lower Thames Crossing\u2019s (LTC) permission is based on its comprehensive compensation package.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s vital that Natural England ensures it is delivered successfully and minimises the impacts on the Thames Estuary’s special wildlife.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe LTC plans to use vast amounts of material and aggregates from the tunnel to create new habitats for wildlife and focus on creating low-nutrient, flower-rich habitats that many of our pollinators need to thrive.”<\/p>\n
![\"Buglife](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg)
Buglife programme manager, Jamie Robins<\/p>\n
Granted a Development Consent Order (DCO) by the Secretary of State for Transport in March, the project is currently in its delivery phase – which involves finalising designs and managing early works – before construction can begin.<\/p>\n
Mr Robins highlighted that the LTC will manage 1,200ha of combined habitat across Kent and Essex to provide \u201cexcellent opportunities\u201d for rewilding.<\/p>\n
However, other action groups continue to oppose the scheme on the grounds that it will increase congestion and habitat loss.<\/p>\n
In an official statement, Kent Wildlife Trust said: \u201cThis approval sets a dangerous precedent for future infrastructure projects, and once again shows nature is not being considered as critical infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision to appoint a lead regulator to the project comes after the government’s Corry Review made recommendations to cut environmental blocks and delays on construction planning processes.<\/p>\n
Under the new approach, Natural England will oversee all environmental safeguarding work, while other watchdogs with an interest – the Environment Agency and Marine Management Organisation – will give advice.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The system is aimed at reducing the time it takes to meet planning permission requirements and approvals for environmental plans.<\/p>\n
It could also reduce costs, according to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).<\/p>\n
Marian Spain, chief executive of Natural England, said infrastructure, housing and nature are not \u201ccompeting interests\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSustainable development and nature recovery must go hand in hand, and urgent action is needed to restore our depleted nature and build desperately needed homes and infrastructure,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re proud to be the lead environmental regulator delivering the Lower Thames Crossing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis model brings developers and all the regulators together to agree how to avoid environmental harm and plan opportunities for nature recovery, so streamlining the approvals process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt Palmer, executive director, Lower Thames Crossing, added: \u201cAs one of the Britain\u2019s most important economic infrastructure projects we are delighted to be the first to work with a Lead Environmental Regulator.<\/p>\n
\u201cDriving economic growth and enhancing nature are at the heart of the Lower Thames Crossing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we gear up to start construction, this new approach will help us to move at pace, while ensuring we protect the natural environment and meet our environmental commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Layla Laidouci A conservation charity has called on the environmental regulator appointed for the Lower Thames Crossing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,3862,191,4475,229,90,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-79586","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-gravesham","10":"tag-kent","11":"tag-planning","12":"tag-politics","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}