The Environmental Delivery Plans (Appropriate Prioritisation) Regulations 2026

Explanatory note

Reproduced verbatim from the instrument as published on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). The note is prepared by the responsible government department and is not part of the instrument itself.

These Regulations set out how Natural England should prioritise different types of conservation measures when preparing or considering requesting an amendment to an Environmental Delivery Plan (“ EDP ”) under Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 (c. 34) .

Conservation measures are the ways an EDP addresses the negative effects of development on a protected species or a protected feature of a protected site.

Regulation 3 sets out how conservation measures must be prioritised, provided that in Natural England’s view it is appropriate to do so. This regulation requires Natural England to consider value for money as part of the determination of appropriateness.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.