England has shifted from policy to practice on nature recovery. At 2.20 p.m. on 18 December 2025, Minister of State Matthew Pennycook signed Statutory Instrument 2025/1370, commencing key provisions of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 and the Levelling‑up and Regeneration Act 2023. For environmental delivery, this unlocks a new system of Environmental Delivery Plans and the legal base for a nature restoration levy.

From 19 December 2025, Natural England can begin preparing Environmental Delivery Plans. The law specifies what each plan must cover: the area it applies to, the kind and volume of development, the time period, the environmental features in scope, the impacts to address and the conservation measures to secure. Further requirements can be set to keep the plans practical and enforceable.

Transparency is baked in from the start. Section 64(1) now requires Natural England to notify the Secretary of State-and publish that notice-when it decides to prepare a plan. Section 82 gives Natural England responsibility for administering, implementing and monitoring EDPs, while section 94 applies general duties to both Natural England and ministers when exercising functions related to these plans. The wider draft‑and‑consult process for EDPs is expected to commence alongside remaining Part 3 provisions on 18 February 2026.

Collaboration will be essential. Section 95 introduces a statutory duty on public authorities to co‑operate with Natural England and provide reasonable assistance during the preparation and implementation of EDPs. That duty touches councils, infrastructure bodies, utilities and ports-organisations whose decisions influence habitats, water quality and community access to green space.

Financing restoration is signalled through sections 62 and 97, which commence the framework for a nature restoration levy. Charging schedules and detailed rules will follow by separate regulations; rates are not set by this instrument. The intention is clear: create a predictable revenue stream to fund habitat creation, species recovery and mitigation linked to development.

More changes arrive on 18 February 2026. National Policy Statements for major infrastructure must be fully reviewed at least every five years, with a new parliamentary route for material policy amendments and updated rules for legal challenge under the Planning Act 2008. The aim is clearer policy, faster decisions and strong environmental guardrails for nationally significant projects.

The same date updates development corporations. Objectives on sustainable development, climate change and good design are standardised across corporation types, overlaps between proposed bodies are resolved in favour of the higher‑tier authority and powers over infrastructure are aligned. This should help regeneration schemes embed low‑carbon transport, energy efficiency and nature‑positive public realm from the outset.

Accountability steps up again on 1 April 2026. Section 91 requires Natural England to publish an annual report for each financial year on how it has exercised its EDP functions. Regular reporting can highlight where delivery is succeeding, where it is falling behind and how any future levy is supporting outcomes.

Transitional safeguards apply to compulsory purchase. Earlier vesting powers for unoccupied or owner‑unknown land only apply to acquisitions authorised after commencement, and new conditional confirmation powers do not affect orders already published. Several compulsory purchase changes do not apply to Wales.

What changes on the ground? Expect an intention‑to‑prepare notice from Natural England, followed by evidence gathering and-once further provisions commence-consultation on draft plans. Local planning authorities can prepare by mapping priority habitats, floodplains and heat‑risk neighbourhoods against their development pipeline so responses are ready when consultation opens.

Developers and land managers can line up deliverable conservation measures-from wetland buffers and hedgerow reconnection to river shading and pollinator corridors-backed by monitoring plans. Community groups can shape local proposals using credible datasets, such as the State of Nature partnership’s 2023 assessment, to evidence need and gain early traction with plan‑makers.

This is pragmatic progress. The instrument does not solve every funding or capacity gap, but it turns Environmental Delivery Plans into legal duties with dates and establishes the legal foundation for a restoration levy. The next test is delivery: strong evidence, open consultation and projects that improve places for people and wildlife without delay.