Planning and Infrastructure Bill Report Stage: Amendment 69

Parliament voted on 9 June 2025 on Amendment 69 to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill at Report Stage. The amendment, tabled by Labour backbencher Chris Hinchliff and backed by 53 MPs, would have strengthened environmental safeguards within the Bill's new Nature Restoration Fund, specifically to address concerns raised by the Office for Environmental Protection. The government opposed it, and the amendment was defeated by 307 votes to 180. The Nature Restoration Fund is a central plank of the Bill, allowing developers to pay a levy to Natural England in lieu of meeting site-by-site environmental obligations, with the proceeds funding conservation measures. Supporters of Amendment 69 argued it was necessary to ensure the fund genuinely delivered for nature rather than weakening existing protections. The government and its allies argued that tightening the environmental requirements around the fund would slow planning approvals, undermining the Bill's core purpose of accelerating housebuilding and major infrastructure delivery. The vote exposed a significant Labour backbench rebellion. Sixteen Labour MPs and one Labour and Co-operative MP voted for the amendment against their government's position. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats voted unanimously for it, as did all four Green MPs, creating a cross-party pro-amendment coalition. Despite this, the government's majority was sufficient to defeat it comfortably. The result reflects wider tensions within the Labour Party over whether the Bill's planning deregulation goes too far in trading away environmental protections for development speed.