The Bishop of Norwich tabled a further amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill focusing on the protection of chalk streams on 24th November 2025,, in response to Commons reasons/amendments to the bill:
The Lord Bishop of Norwich: At end insert “and do propose Amendment 38B in lieu—
38B: After Clause 52, insert the following new Clause—
“Chalk streams
(1) The Secretary of State must, within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed, by regulations made by statutory instrument, provide guidance to strategic planning authorities on how they must, in delivering their planning functions, take into account the need to define, protect and enhance chalk stream habitats.
(2) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.””
My Lords, I am grateful for the strong support that my earlier Amendment 38 gained on Report. Chalk streams are globally rare habitats of which we have 85% in England. We simply must protect them and other irreplaceable habitats, because we have lost so much of this nation’s nature already.
I pay tribute to the Minister for her hard work on the Bill and for engaging with me, the noble Baronesses, Lady Grender and Lady Willis, and the noble Earl, Lord Caithness, together with Minister Pennycook, the Minister for Housing and Planning. I know that the noble Baroness values chalk streams in her native Hertfordshire. I am grateful that she recognises the positive intent of this amendment, and I listened very carefully to the three commitments that she gave. But I am still concerned, even with those commitments.
First, the commitment around local nature recovery strategies is a positive thing, but the problem is that local nature recovery strategies do not cover the whole catchment area of a river. The flow of the whole river is so vital for these ecosystems and for biodiversity. There can be abstraction in some places but then pollution in others.
Secondly, there is mention of including
“explicit recognition of chalk streams in the new suite of national policies for decision making”.—[Official Report, Commons, 13/11/25; col. 363.]
I noticed the phrase “explicit recognition”. That is different from “explicit protection”, which would be so much stronger. Will the Minister state that protection is needed, not just recognition, in these national policies?
Finally, while the vital White Paper on water is awaited by your Lordships’ House, and then a subsequent Bill, the problem is that the time keeps slipping into the future. Time is of essence for the protection of our chalk streams.
I am sorry to be a little troublesome, but with this amendment I am seeking to elevate statutory protection for chalk streams, which should be protected outside of and above the planning system. The intent of my amendment is to ensure clarity and certainty over what developers and planners must do when development is proposed that would adversely impact on chalk streams.
At present, developers are understandably confused by chalk streams, and indeed other irreplaceable habitats. There is no clear statutory defined list of chalk streams and no consistent approach to their protection. Instead, we are relying on conflicting, shifting and overlapping non-statutory planning policies to protect some of our most cherished natural heritage. This adds cost, risk and uncertainty for developers and puts significant pressure on an already overloaded planning system.
Chalk streams, like other irreplaceable habitats, are too important to be swept up into the maelstrom of competing interests fought out across the ever-shifting sands of planning policy. Irreplaceable habitats need elevated and nationally consistent protections so that developers and planners know exactly where they stand—and that is what I am calling for today.
My amendment would ensure a clear, consistent national approach to protecting these jewels in the crown—an approach that could not be overridden at the whim of, say, some future Minister, for short-term political convenience. This would also give reassurance to an increasingly concerned public that these precious national nature treasures should not be damaged or destroyed.
Housing and infrastructure development needs to fly in formation with nature. I look forward to the debate and the Minister’s response, although I may then wish to test the will of the House. I beg to move.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, I thank all who have contributed to this debate and in particular the Minister, for her customary care in the answers she has given us.
What we agree on, across all sides of this House, is that chalk streams are precious, irreplaceable habitats that are gravely endangered. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Roborough, for giving a sense that he would like to continue to press this in other ways. My view remains that we need clear legal protections for chalk streams and other irreplaceable habitats so that developers and planners know where they stand and the public can be reassured that protections will not easily be wiped out overnight. With this in mind, I seek to test the will of the House.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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