Welcome to the latest edition of the Freeths Environmental Law Team’s monthly blog, setting out the most significant environmental legal and policy updates from July 2026.
Regulatory Overreach or Necessary Protection? Lessons from BASC v Natural England
Richard Broadbent, Director in the Environment Team, comments on the recent judgment in The British Association for Shooting and Conservation v Natural England [2026] EWHC 1812.
Nature
Changes to biodiversity net gain
The Biodiversity Gain (Town and Country Planning) (Amendments and Transitional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2026, which come into force on 6 August 2026, will make several significant changes to the operation of mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) in England. Most notably, developments on sites of 0.2 hectares or less (provided no priority habitat is affected) and certain temporary developments of up to five years will be exempt from BNG requirements.
The regulations also relax the biodiversity gain hierarchy for non-major development, enabling smaller schemes to use registered off-site biodiversity units on an equal footing with on-site habitat creation and enhancement, while retaining statutory biodiversity credits as a last resort. At the same time, the existing exemption for self-build and custom-build development is removed, bringing many such schemes within the scope of mandatory BNG (unless no other exemption applies). The changes apply to applications made from 6 August 2026 onwards.
30by30 delivery plan
The Government has published its 30by30 on Land Delivery Plan, setting out how England intends to contribute to the UK's commitment to conserve and manage 30% of land for nature by 2030. The plan confirms that around 7% of land in England currently meets the 30by30 criteria, with a wider 32% of land identified as either already likely to contribute or having the potential to contribute to the target.
A central feature of the strategy is a new three-tier framework comprising “Bronze”, “Silver” and “Gold” categories. Only land meeting the full 30by30 criteria will count towards the target, but the framework is intended to provide a pathway for landowners and managers to progress land into the formal 30by30 network over time.
The Delivery Plan places significant emphasis on Local Nature Recovery Strategies, Protected Landscapes, habitat restoration and the role of private finance in supporting nature recovery. It also signals closer alignment between the 30by30 agenda and wider environmental initiatives, including Biodiversity Net Gain, conservation covenants, Landscape Recovery schemes and the Nature Restoration Fund.
Waste and resources
Digital waste tracking
The Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026 come into force on 1st October 2026, establishing a new electronic system for tracking the movement of controlled waste in England, including household, commercial and industrial waste. The Regulations introduce information recording requirements for operators of sites receiving waste for management, together with associated offences and civil sanctions.
The digital tracking system is intended to improve waste traceability, support enforcement action against waste crime and provide more comprehensive waste data for regulators and policymakers.
The UK remains in a transition phase from largely paper-based waste transfer notes and consignment note systems towards a single UK-wide Digital Waste Tracking Service (DWTS). The service has now entered public beta, with permitted and licensed waste receiving sites able to begin reporting waste receipt data digitally.
The immediate focus is on waste receivers. Defra and the environmental regulators are encouraging receiving facilities to onboard now, test API connections and refine reporting processes before legal obligations take effect. Current guidance indicates that reporting of waste receipts through the digital service will become mandatory from October 2026 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with Scotland following in January 2027. Waste exemptions are not included in the initial phase.
The next phase is expected to extend digital tracking across the wider waste chain, moving beyond receiving sites to encompass producers, carriers, brokers and dealers. The long-term vision is a fully digital, near real-time system covering all waste movements, enabling better regulatory oversight, improved data on material flows and greater support for circular economy policy development. Industry participants should therefore be preparing not only for compliance by receiving sites, but also for wider integration of digital tracking into operational and commercial processes.
Climate
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism administrative regulations published
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (Administrative Provisions) Regulations 2026 establish the administrative framework for the UK's new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), including detailed requirements relating to registration, returns, record keeping and compliance.
The CBAM is intended to account for the carbon emissions embodied in certain carbon-intensive goods imported into the UK, including goods from the aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen and iron and steel sectors. The regulations come into force on 1 January 2027 as part of the wider implementation of the UK's CBAM regime.
Chemicals
Government responds to Parliamentary Committee report on PFAS
The Government has published its response to the Environmental Audit Committee's (EAC) report on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often referred to as "forever chemicals". While the response reiterates the Government's commitment to developing a PFAS regulatory framework through its PFAS Plan, it stops short of committing to either a universal ban on PFAS or the introduction of immediate restrictions based on an "essential use" approach. The Government instead emphasises the need for decisions to be informed by the available scientific evidence and risk assessments.
Of particular interest is the Government's indication that future reforms to UK REACH are likely to align with relevant EU regulatory decisions unless there are compelling reasons to depart from them. This suggests that developments under the EU's evolving PFAS regulatory regime will continue to influence the UK's approach to PFAS regulation.
Contaminated land
HM Treasury consults on reforms to Land Remediation Relief
HM Treasury has launched a consultation on potential reforms to Land Remediation Relief (LRR), the 150% Corporation Tax relief intended to encourage the remediation and redevelopment of contaminated and long-term derelict land. Proposals include changes to align eligible remediation expenditure more closely with planning processes, revise the treatment of long-term derelict land and address the timing mismatch between when remediation costs are incurred and relief can be claimed.
Responses are invited until 21 September 2026.
Water, agriculture
Defra confirms stronger civil sanctions for water company offences
Defra has published its response to the October 2025 consultation on strengthening the Environment Agency's (EA) enforcement powers against water companies. The Government has confirmed that the proposed changes include the EA being allowed to impose variable monetary penalties (VMPs) to the civil standard of proof for a wider range of offences, including breaches relating to environmental permits, abstraction licences, impounding licences and drought permits. The reforms are intended to enable the regulator to take faster and more proportionate enforcement action against minor and moderate environmental offences.
The Government has also confirmed the introduction of new automatic penalties for certain clearly evidenced offences. These fixed penalties will operate in a similar manner to a speeding ticket, with an initial penalty of £10,000 that may be increased where payment is not made within the specified period. In addition, civil-standard VMPs will be subject to a maximum penalty of £500,000, while criminal prosecution and existing unlimited penalties will remain available for the most serious cases. Following the consultation, the Government intends to implement the changes through secondary legislation.
Environment Agency publishes first annual agriculture and water environment report
The EA has published its first annual report providing an overview of agriculture’s impact on England’s water environment, including the EA’s work with farmers to improve environmental compliance. It covers a wide range of issues, including farm inspections, diffuse pollution, abstraction and water management, flood risk, intensive pig and poultry permitting and the use of new technologies to support regulation and environmental protection.
The report confirms that agriculture remains one of the largest sources of water pollution in England. While the EA reports that more than 19,000 verified environmental improvements have been delivered since 2021 through its expanded inspection and engagement programme, it notes that serious pollution incidents have not declined.
Planning and infrastructure
Streamlining infrastructure planning
Comment by Kaley Kramer, Legal Assistant
The Government’s response to the consultation on streamlining infrastructure planning (published on 3 July 2026) reaffirms the commitment to determine “at least 150 major infrastructure projects by the end of this Parliament”. This Parliament is nearly halfway through, and as of 3 July 2026, 41 projects had been determined. While this represents a significant increase compared with the previous Parliament, there remains considerable progress to be made if the Government is to achieve its target.
Throughout the Government’s response, emphasis is on how the changes have improved efficiency, responsiveness and flexibility in Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) planning. Future success is now down to “applicants, practitioners, local planning authorities, statutory bodies and local communities” using the new lean, stripped-back system and catching the spirit of “streamlined infrastructure planning”.
In early July, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) published a suite of guidance documents supporting the reforms, including overarching National Infrastructure Planning Guidance and guidance covering the pre-application, acceptance, pre-examination, examination and decision-making stages of the NSIP process. Additional guidance has also been issued on DCO drafting, section 35 directions and the cost recovery under the Infrastructure Planning (Fees) Regulations 2010.
Recurring themes in consultation responses included the need for clear guidance, particularly as recommendations for good practice around pre-application consultation have replaced statutory requirements. The guidance provided may or may not satisfy respondents, as it steps back from providing case studies or definitions, relying instead on examples of what, for example, non-statutory engagement or “satisfactory submissions” might involve.
Whether the new system will bring about the slick efficiency of a regime “firing on all cylinders”, as the Government desires, remains to be seen. The necessary balance between nationally significant infrastructure needs and the central role of local planning authorities will likely be worked out project by project and where needed, case by case.
Judicial review reforms proposed beyond Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has launched a consultation on extending recent judicial review reforms for NSIPs to other planning regimes in England and Wales. The proposals build on reforms introduced through the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 and are intended to reduce delays caused by unsuccessful legal challenges to major developments.
Specifically, the consultation seeks views on applying similar measures to major infrastructure projects and other strategically important developments, including reforms relating to repeated permission applications, case management and court timetabling. Responses are invited until 27 August 2026.
Other resources
Richard Broadbent, Director in the Environment Team, comments on the recent judgment in The British Association for Shooting and Conservation v Natural England [2026] EWHC 1812. The article is available here.
We explore the narrow planning permission exemption to the felling licence regime, highlighting recent case law and Forestry Commission guidance on when it can and cannot be relied upon. Read more here.
The content of this page is a summary of the law in force at the date of publication and is not exhaustive, nor does it contain definitive advice. Specialist legal advice should be sought in relation to any queries that may arise.
Related expertise
Meet our team
Paul Brailsford
Partner, National Head of Planning & Environment
Penny Simpson
Partner | Head of Natural Capital Law
Sam Kharabanda Groom
Senior Associate
Contact us today
Whatever your legal needs, our wide ranging expertise is here to support you and your business, so let’s start your legal journey today and get you in touch with the right lawyer to get you started.
Get in touch
For general enquiries, please complete this form and we will direct your message to the most appropriate person.