The CEO of the Government’s statutory adviser for the natural environment, Natural England’s has published a detailed blog post explaining how partnership working is helping to streamline development of the Lower Thames Crossing, so environmental protections and development goals are aligned rather than in conflict.
In the post Marian Spain writes how early collaboration has enabled progress on wetland habitat creation at Coalhouse Point and planning for green bridges that reconnect wildlife habitats, with partners such as National Highways, the Marine Management Organisation and the Environment Agency working together to accelerate delivery while embedding nature recovery.
“Because the truth is, nature and growth aren’t in competition,” she writes. “When we get this right, congestion will be cut, boosting the economy, and leaving the environment in a better state than we found it,” while the joined-up approach is making it easier for everyone: “Instead of developers going back and forth between different regulators, they’ll have one front door on areas of advice that overlap.”
Ms Spain also gives lessons in how to design a project with the environment in mind, writing: “The green bridges offer the potential to reconnect nature rich sites previously fragmented by existing roads, providing great opportunities for people to connect these sites.”
She continues: “As Lead Environmental Regulator, this project represents a valuable opportunity to formalise and amplify the collaborative relationships that exist between regulators and ensure open dialogue and visibility with all project partners. Our shared mission is clear: to actively seek innovative solutions that enhance outcomes for nature and growth, to avoid delays linked to environmental conditions and ensure commitments are delivered on time.”
Summing up, she concludes: “Reflecting on the visit, I can see that the Lower Thames Crossing project shows great promise in terms of connectivity. Connection for people, in terms of access to places and nature, connection for wildlife and connection between organisations. This is just one of the ways that we are innovating at Natural England to drive nature recovery while enabling the building of the essential infrastructure and homes that this country needs.”
(Picture – National Highways)
