What the Nature Restoration Fund means for National Trails in England

National Trails don’t just provide iconic routes through some of the UK’s most treasured landscapes – they also pass through many of the country’s most sensitive habitats and protected sites. That means changes to how nature protection is funded and delivered through the planning system can have real, on-the-ground consequences for our National Trails, the landscapes they showcase, and the experience of the people who use them.

Just before Christmas, Natural England published further details on how the new Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) will work in practice. Introduced through the Planning and Infrastructure Act, which became law on 18 December, the NRF represents a significant shift in how impacts on nature from development will be mitigated. For National Trails in England, this could open up opportunities for better access and landscape-scale improvements. But it also raises important questions about how our National Trails are considered, protected and enhanced as development pressures increase.

This blog by National Trails UK Chief Executive, Polly Martin, sets out what the Nature Restoration Fund is, how it will operate, and why it matters for National Trails and everyone involved in caring for them.

What is the Nature Restoration Fund?

The Nature Restoration Fund is a new approach to using developer contributions to fund works to mitigate any environmental impacts from a new development. Rather than having individual developers doing individual mitigation schemes, the NRF will collate money to fund coordinated, large-scale projects to protect and restore nature, while still allowing homes and infrastructure to be built.

How will the Nature Restoration Fund work?

Natural England will administer the fund. To decide what money will be spent where, they will design Environment Delivery Plans (EDPs) for specific places and environmental issues. These EDPs will clearly define:

• The type of environmental impact it covers
• The geographic area it applies to
• The amount and type of development it can support

These EDPs will mean that instead of each development delivering its own mitigation, developers whose projects fall within an EDP area would have the options of paying a set levy into the NRF which will then deliver the actions for that EDP. These should:

• More than offset the environmental impacts of development
• Deliver an overall environmental improvement (not just neutrality)
• Can be delivered at scale, creating wider benefits such as better habitats and public access to green space

The levy will be calculated to cover the full cost of delivering the conservation measures.

How will Environment Delivery Plans be developed?

Natural England will prepare draft EDPs for impacts on both protected species and/or sites. Developed with local partners using best available evidence, each EDP will also include:

• A definition of the environmental feature(s) covered by the EDP (such as a protected species or site)
• The environmental impacts of development on these features that the EDP will address
• Clear maps setting out the area covered by the EDP
• The scale and type of development the EDP can support
• The conservation measures which will be deployed to address the impact of development on the described environmental features across the given area
• Where the environmental feature is a protected species, the terms of the licence that will be treated as having been granted and also how any such licence meets the species licensing tests derived from international law
• A charging schedule that will include covering the costs of the conservation measures - developers will pay this to meet the relevant legal obligations associated with the impacts addressed by the EDP

Each draft EDP will have a minimum of a 28 working day public consultation. Natural England will consider comments and make any changes necessary before submitting it to the Secretary of State for approval.

The Secretary of State must be satisfied that the proposed measures will outweigh the negative environmental effects of development, and that backup measures must be included in case monitoring shows targets are not being met.

What happens if the Environmental Delivery Plan is approved?

If the EDP is approved, then it will be delivered! As each EDP will be different, the delivery process for each will look different, depending on consents needed and the work to be done. The rough stages that each EDP needs to work through are:

1. Listing the EDP on the EDP online platform. This will enable developers to estimate the levy they would need to pay if they used the EDP.
2. If developers want to pay in to an EDP, they make a request to Natural England.
3. If approved, the EDP can be used by developers in their planning application instead of a required habitats assessment or species license. Likewise, the local planning authority will ensure that the planning application has any relevant planning conditions needed to deliver that EDP.
4. If planning is approved, the developer is committed to paying the levy, as per an agreed timetable with Natural England.

Once approved, Natural England will use the funds collected to deliver the conservation measures, working with farmers, habitat providers, and environmental organisations. They will monitor the outcomes and make any amendments to the EDP as needed according to this monitoring.

How will Environmental Delivery Plans be monitored and reported on?

Natural England will be required to publish an annual report which provides a high-level review of NRF progress, including monies received and spent against each EDP.

They will also produce EDP specific reports at the mid and end point of an EDP, showing the delivery of conservation measures and if the EPD is on track to achieve the desired positive environmental outcomes.

In some case, maintenance might extend beyond an EDP to deliver the environmental benefits. In these cases, monitoring will continue.

Anything else to be aware of?

The vast majority of EDPs are expected to be voluntary, and developers can choose if they want their development to pay in to it. In exceptional circumstances it is possible for EDPs to be mandatory, but the Secretary of State will only make such EDPs where Natural England has satisfied them that it is necessary.

The Secretary of State has the power to amend an EDP if they are not confident that necessary environmental improvement will be met. For example, they could change the content of the EDP so it is achievable by the end date.  

If the EDP does not achieve the overall improvement, then the Secretary of State must publish a statement setting out ‘proportionate remedial actions’.

What does this mean for National Trails?

Pros for National Trails

• Opportunities for enhanced access and trail quality

The NRF explicitly seeks to enhance public access to nature wherever possible. This could be an opportunity for National Trails, given the ways in which they intersect other protected sites.

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• Strategic, landscape-scale improvements

EDPs operate across larger geographies, rather than site-by-site mitigation, just as the National Trails cover multiple protected habitats and sites.

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Cons for National Trails

• National Trails not explicitly prioritised

National Trails are not named as protected features within the Nature Recovery Fund framework. The EDPs will focus on protected species and protected sites. National Trails UK will be working to make sure that National Trails are seen as part of the solution, rather than being passive partners that EDP solutions happen around.

• Risks from increased development

As National Trails are not properly protected in planning legislation, there is a danger that some public access, particularly in the coastal margin of the King Charles III England Coast Path, will be lost.

In Summary...

The Nature Restoration Fund could offer some opportunities for National Trails to get works funded from another source. However, to ensure the biggest opportunity for the National Trails, NTUK needs to work with Natural England to ensure that the network is a part of the relevant Environment Delivery Plans.

We will also continue to work to properly protect National Trails in planning, so that any increased development does not negatively impact the National Trails.

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