My Lords, I declare my interest as a vice-president of the LGA. I apologise for my late arrival at this debate, and for missing some of the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Lansley.
I wish to speak in support of Amendment 293 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, to which I have added my name. The noble Baroness, Lady Jones, introduced her amendment clearly. I fully support the introduction of ecological surveys taking place prior to planning applications being submitted, and mitigating measures taking place. Having been a member of a county council for 20 years and a district council for 10 years, I am only too well aware that the information provided to councillors taking planning decisions is often very sketchy and sometimes non-existent. Proposed new subsection (2)(a), (b) and (c) is extremely important to ensuring success in preserving vulnerable species of both animals and plant. Proposed new subsection (2)(d) should be absolutely the last resort: offsite mitigation should be avoided at all costs, and considered only after all other avenues for mitigation onsite have been exhausted.
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The list of vulnerable species will be dependent on the location and area of England and of the site. There will be no exhaustive list, but otters and great crested newts, along with dormice, harvest mice, voles, and birds such as bullfinches and maybe swifts should be considered. The habitats of migrating species—some visiting in the summer and others which are overwintering —should be considered, along with indigenous bird nesting sites, including owls and bat roosts.
Proposed new subsection (3)(a) and (b) is vital to ensure sufficient penalty for those who carry out tree clearance and other measures in an effort to prevent either the application going forward or mitigation measures taking place which may hold up the development.
Local planning authorities need to step up and protect their local vulnerable species. Currently, the Environment Agency provides information to local authorities, but it is underfunded and understaffed so its ability to provide the necessary information is limited. Perhaps now is the time for groups of local authorities to employ their own environmental experts to carry out this work. The cost of this could be recouped through the planning fees that are part and parcel of every development application.
Before finishing, I would like to say a few words in support of a couple of the other amendments in this group. Amendment 270 in the names of the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman of Ullock, and the noble Earl, Lord Devon, alongside Amendments 270A and 270B from the noble Earl, Lord Caithness, raises the importance of both flood risk and wildfires. The need to control and manage both is an essential element of protecting our wildlife and species habitat.
The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, put her name to Amendment 272, spoken to by the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, to protect hedgehogs by ensuring that there are holes included in domestic fencing, so that these much-loved but very scarce creatures are able to move around their territory freely to find both food and shelter.
Finally, my noble friend Lord Teverson put down Amendment 309 to ensure that climate change is dealt with, and that consistency in mitigation of and adaptation to all measures becomes a reality in the near future. It should not be something which we bitterly regret not tackling properly in the future, when it will all be too late.
This is an important and excellent group of amendments, and I look forward to the Minister’s response.