How to build your case to protect nature from a development threat

It can be hard to know where to start when making a case to stop or change a proposed development to get the best outcome for nature. Here are some steps for building your case. 

Local and national planning policy is the framework against which all planning decisions are made. It is therefore always worth checking what the relevant local development plan says about the site or the kind of development being proposed. It’s also important to check if any relevant national planning policy guidance contains wider-scale policies that could help support your position. 

A site may have had previous applications made for its development, which can be a useful source of information. Previous applications may include useful ecological information about the site. If an earlier application was refused, the decision letter and Planning Officer’s report can also provide clues as to how the present application may be treated. Details of historic applications should be available via the public access system on the local planning authority’s website.  

There should be a strong presumption against any damage to protected wildlife sites, including from indirect impacts (such as excessive noise, artificial lighting or water pollution). See our How to assess the importance of a site under threat from development guide to find out how to check for any conservation designations in the area, and for more information about the protection provided by the different types of designation. 

Gather evidence to support and strengthen your key arguments. Much published evidence is available online and can be found using one of a number of free online search tools, such as Google Scholar. Most of the UK’s statutory nature conservation bodies also have searchable online libraries containing useful research reports. Be economical with quotations from evidence sources but take care not to be over-selective or quote out of context. 

Your own evidence can also greatly help illustrate and support your case. Dated and annotated photographs showing particular features or species within the site in question and collated records of wildlife can provide compelling evidence to the decision maker. See our  How to record wildlife  guide for tips on surveying a site and recording wildlife data. 

You should be able to find any responses from other members of the public and statutory consultees already received by the decision-maker on their online public access system, by searching using the application reference number or site address. Building on others’ comments or showing how yours are complementary can help amplify your own messages. 

Offering positive examples of comparable developments that have been designed to be sympathetic to nature, or conversely where environmental damage has been done by other similar schemes, can be equally impactful in making your case. 

It can pay to recognise in advance that the decision might not go the way you want. Consider what changes or ‘mitigation measures’ could be introduced, or what conditions or planning obligations the decision-maker could place on any planning permission that might help reduce or remove your concerns.  

If the planning authority has declared a climate and/or biodiversity emergency, use this to frame your concerns, such as by emphasising the need to limit carbon emissions and reduce biodiversity loss. Our Encourage your local authority to help nature page contains further guidance on how to ask your local authority to take action on the climate and biodiversity emergency (if they haven’t already done so).  

How to assess the importance of a site under threat from development

How to write an effective response to a planning application 

How to access public information to protect nature: FOI and EIR requests