A Flawed Bill That Harms Both Nature & Developers With Alexa Culver

Today, Paul sits down with Alexa Culver, a lawyer who specialises in the field of
environmental development, planning and natural capital. She is legal counsel for RSK
Wilding - a DEFRA designated body under the Environment Act, which creates large scale nature restoration schemes that support developers to replace habitats.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The Planning and Infrastructure Bill Part III is flawed. Paul and Alexa discuss how
  things got so out of hand and the solution.
• Not having any evidential requirement for an EDP to come into effect is highly
  problematic.
• If there is no mitigation hierarchy the pace at which nature declines speeds up.
• A 28-day window of consultation for an EDP is ridiculously short.
• We know from past experience that the way forward is for all involved parties to work together e.g. Newts are protected, but the way it is done has been greatly
  streamlined.
• The very existence of the bill, even in its draft form, has created uncertainty that has slowed down development.

BEST MOMENTS
“It´s such a blunt instrument and it doesn’t work.”
“It can’t be an objective environmental watchdog while relying on levies from developers.”
“Here we will be accelerating the harm.”
“Our ecosystems and local people´s environment is being sacrificed protect the profits of overseas companies.”
“It´s the absolute killer of any attempt to try to make an offsetting scheme work.”
“There´s some really wide-reaching, consequential amendment clauses in the bill.”

The Property Development Scorecard

https://millbanklandacademy.scoreapp.com

RESOURCES
Alexa´s post -https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7313892173786091520

ABOUT THE HOST

Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.
Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multimillion-pound award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.
In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know! 
Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.
 
CONTACT METHOD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs
Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment