Although I’ve stepped down from Southampton Climate Action Network (SoCAN) Steering Group I’m still following political developments which may affect Southampton. I feel overwhelmed and concerned. Some very big decisions are being taken. Are organisations such as SOCAN and Transition Southampton going to be able to cope with the magnitude of it all?
Here is a synopsis of the changes we face (there may well be more):
1. Local government devolution and reorganisation: the government published its White Paper in December 2024. It has subsequently given Hampshire and the Solent the go-ahead to become a Strategic Authority which will cover what is now Hampshire County Council, the Isle of wight, Portsmouth and Southampton. Its consultation on the proposals has just been published: Hampshire and the Solent devolution consultation – GOV.UK
Government is also planning to abolish county councils (like Hampshire County Council) and District Councils (like Eastleigh and Havant). Instead, they want all the authorities – all 10 district councils in Hampshire, Hampshire County Council, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton, to agree how to combine into unitary authorities with a population of around 500,000 each. It is possible that Southampton will join Eastleigh and maybe also (part of?) another nearby authority to achieve this.
Hampshire Climate Action Network is coordinating responses to these proposals from member organisations, including SoCAN. We are lobbying the Government to make the new strategic authorities responsible for coordinating strategy and action on nature and the climate. We will also be pressing for local politicians to keep climate at the top of their agenda during and after all the upheavals.
2. National Planning Policy Framework: the government has published a revised framework following the consultation that SoCAN responded to last year. Hampshire and IOW Wildlife Trust has read this and reacted with concern to the lack of protection/restoration of nature contained within it. Their Policy and Advocacy Manager, Philip Box said:
Unfortunately, the Government’s published response to this consultation falls short of what is needed to protect our precious natural environment. Despite the compelling evidence and strong public support, key suggestions for chalk stream protections, as well as key measures such as stronger local greening requirements, and closing loopholes in Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) exemptions, were not adopted.
If these issues are not spelled out in the NPPF there is little hope that Local Plans will contain them and our opportunity to protect and restore the natural world will be lost.
3. Local Plan: Southampton’s final consultation is due to be released in 2025 and our written contribution to this is critical. Only those individuals and organisations which submit responses will be allowed to speak to the Inspector at the public hearing and information cannot be added at a later date.
4. The Climate Change Committee‘s Seventh Carbon Budget will be released on 25th February: The Committee will advise the UK on the level of its Seventh Carbon Budget, the legal limit for UK net emissions of greenhouse gases over the years 2038 to 2042. It will also publish its report on Progress in adapting to climate change on 30th April 2025
5. A Land Use Framework consultation was launched on 31st January – although at first glance this might not seem directly applicable to a city like Southampton, it could become very important if we are joined with Eastleigh in the reorganisation of local authorities: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-national-conversation-on-land-use
6. A water management strategy is due to be enacted in the coming year. Southern Water has obtained permission to take longer than that. New reservoirs, several desalination plants, some demand management and more are envisaged: A summary of England’s revised draft regional and water resources management plans – GOV.UK
7. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will be published in the coming year. It is designed to “turbocharge” planning processes and get more houses and infrastructure built more quickly. A concern is the dismissive attitude to “bats and newts” expressed by the Chancellor. This excerpt from the plans sums it up:
The government is also reforming environmental impact assessments, which have strayed from their original purpose of supporting decision making and have become voluminous and costly documents that too often support legal challenges rather than the environment. They will be replaced by Environmental Outcome Reports which will be simpler and much clearer, which will support growth by saving developers time and money, whilst still protecting the environment. The government will publish a roadmap for the delivery of these new Environment Outcomes Reports in the coming months.
This follows a working paper on development and nature published by the government before Christmas setting out a new approach that will turbocharge the delivery of housing and infrastructure while securing positive environmental outcomes. Developers will be able to pay into the Nature Restoration Fund which will allow them to discharge relevant environmental obligations for protected sites and species and focus on building, safe in the knowledge that appropriate action will be taken to support nature’s recovery. (my emphasis)
Government goes further and faster on planning reform in bid for growth – GOV.UK
See this critique from a firm of ecologists: A Green Revolution or a Shortcut to Nature’s Peril? A Critique of the Government’s Planning Reform Proposal – Acer Ecology
8. Local Nature Recovery Strategies will be published this year. DEFRA has provided funding for this work and Hampshire is our LNRS area. When the Hampshire plan was considered by Natural England they asked Hampshire to withdraw theirs and rewrite it. The reason for this advice was that Natural England did not consider that the draft Strategy adequately prioritised areas for action, or provide clarity on priority measures where multiple options could apply to a single area.
Local Nature Recovery Strategy-2025-01-23-LEMH2050 Decision Day
This meant the LNRS for Hampshire couldn’t be produced by the July 2025 deadline and they have asked permission to defer until December this year.
We need to know how Hampshire’s devolution will cope with this work.
Although most of these documents mention connecting with environmental charities and community organisations, all this activity presents an overwhelming challenge to local people and is likely to result in less engagement because of that. Is the government moving too fast to take account of local knowledge, expertise and involvement?
One of SoCAN’s priorities is to continue to be a voice to influence policy that impacts Southampton, and provide a link between policy-makers and Southampton communities. SoCAN advocates for meaningful community engagement on climate, nature and associated environmental initiatives. It is easy for consultations to become tick boxes. But we know that communities are fundamental to delivering nature-friendly development and reducing carbon emissions. The associated benefits of reducing household bills (e.g. through renewable energy) and encouraging greater connection with nature can really help people flourish and thrive. And progressing the green agenda will lead to more skills and jobs for local people in new areas, creating opportunities for businesses to find entrepreneurial opportunities in these future changes.
Together, we are stronger and the future could be greener and brighter.
Do join SoCAN. You can do this via www.sotoncan.org.uk or emailing sotoncan@gmail.com