The Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman announced on the 19th March that “environmental regulations will be made simpler and more effective while remaining as strong as ever” following a review of red tape but the BMC is concerned that these changes strongly side with economic development and ignore the value of public access to the countryside.

In April 2011, the official Red Tape Challenge website was launched by the Cabinet Office listing over 21,000 regulations active in the UK today, asking for the public to tell Government which ones are working and which are not; what should be scrapped, what should be saved and what should be simplified. According to the website, “the default presumption will be that burdensome regulations will go”.

The Environment theme was under scrutiny in September 2011 and included regulations which affect biodiversity, wildlife management, landscape, countryside and recreation. Following the announcement on 19th March, 35 regulations affecting biodiversity, wildlife management, landscape, countryside and recreation will now be scrapped and another 69 in this area will be ‘improved’. 

Amongst the proposed changes, there are suggestions to charge people who wish to open up a footpath, ‘deregulate’ the works allowed on common land and streamline the implementation of coastal access in England.  Whilst the details behind the proposals have yet to come forward, the BMC remains concerned that those regulations in place to protect our countryside and our rights to access this are being jeopardised, and the promise of greater access to our coast may be compromised. 

The Governments intention is for environmental regulations to “provide savings to businesses and protect the environment by being cheaper and easier for companies to follow” but at what cost and for who’s benefit?  Economic growth coupled with the “presumption in favour of sustainable development”, as set out in the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), continue to put rural England at risk of large scale development.

In summary, through the majority of proposals the Government will be;

• Adopting a more efficient and streamlined approach to the future implementation of the coastal route and associated spreading room under Part 9 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. This will make it less likely that a business will need to make an objection against Natural England’s proposals and so reduce costs.
   
• Fully implementing Part 1 of the Commons Act 2006 to introduce modern provisions throughout England, improve consistency and accessibility, and improve the protection and management of commons. This will revoke a number of Commons regulations.
   
• Introducing a range of further exemptions for works on common land from the requirement to apply for consent from the Planning Inspectorate (PINS). This will eliminate the need for certain applications that are invariably approved, to reduce the burden on applicants and on PINS.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is separately reviewing the implementation of the Habitats and Wild Birds Directives on the ground, especially its impact on proposed developments, with a view to reducing burdens on business while maintaining the integrity of the Directives. The results are due to be announced alongside the Budget on Wednesday 21st March.

The BMC will be meeting with DEFRA and Natural England in the coming week to discuss the details behind the proposals.
 

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