The government’s Nature Restoration Fund is intended to simplify a planning system often criticised as complex and slow. By allowing developers to pay into a centralised fund instead of delivering certain environmental mitigation works themselves, the scheme is framed as a way to accelerate housebuilding while improving environmental outcomes. The reality, particularly in its early stages, is more nuanced.

A key question for developers is whether the fund will meaningfully reduce delay. In principle, removing the need to design and negotiate on site or bespoke offsite mitigation should save time.

Developers who secure planning permission must comply with a number of provisions. These include any planning conditions attached to the permission, which detail how the development is to be carried out; any section 106 agreement, which can contain long-term positive obligations and off-site works; and the Community Infrastructure Levy, where adopted, which is a fixed contribution on additional floor space. It is important to remember that planning conditions and section 106 agreements often include environmental mitigation.