‘It’s madness’: bat enthusiasts fear planning bill will derail years of conservation

<p>Research project team say Labour’s proposed nature restoration fund would end up being a ‘pay-to-destroy system’</p><p></p><p>“There are the most extraordinary things we could learn from them,” says Brian Briggs, as he checks yet another of the bat boxes that he and his wife, Patty, have put up just outside Heathrow. “They’re completely fascinating, from all kinds of angles.”</p><p>It’s a damp Sunday morning at Bedfont Lakes country park, and the Nathusius’ research project team, led by Patty, is checking the artificial roosters, looking at the health and number of different bat species. This outing, however, is a little different from normal; the conversation is focused not on the bats but on the government’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/oct/14/rachel-reeves-planning-system-changes">planning and infrastructure bill</a>, which the following day will be having its final reading in the House of Lords.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/20/its-madness-bat-enthusiasts-fear-planning-bill-will-derail-years-of-conservation">Continue reading...</a>