The Nature Restoration Levy Regulations 2026

The draft Nature Restoration Levy Regulations 2026 were laid before Parliament on 18 June 2026. The Regulations detail how the Nature Restoration Levy (the Levy) under Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 will operate.

To recap: the Levy allows the discharge of certain environmental obligations by paying into a central fund used to deliver conservation measures as set out in Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) as opposed to providing or paying for site specific mitigation measures.  Developers can voluntarily sign up to an EDP, administered by Natural England, and in which case they would be bound to pay the Levy.  Where the EDP is mandatory – it is anticipated that only a small percentage of EDPS will be made mandatory – then mitigation can only be undertaken by payment of the Levy . Please refer to my previous article and this feature article in Planning Resource.

Key points for developers to note

1. A pre-commencement planning condition will be imposed, stipulating that the development may not be commenced until the Levy is paid or if the Levy is to be paid in instalment liability to pay the first instalment is discharged.
2. The provisions relating to liability under the Levy is comparable to the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 (as amended).

• The committed developer is a “liable person”
• A person may agree to assume liability by serving a liability notice, and in doing so becomes a “liable person”
• The assumption of liability notice is a formal statutory notice and become effective when it is received by Natural England. HOWEVER, it will have no effect if it is received by Natural England BEFORE
  • The request to pay is accepted by Natural England
  • Planning permission has been granted; or if the development is subject to a prior approval, the prior approval is given, it is determine the prior approval is not require or prior approval is deemed to be given
  • Natural England has accepted the request to pay and the development has begun before the required planning permissions, consent, approvals are in place.
• A liable person may transfer liability to pay the Levy to another by giving the requisite formal notice to Natural England
• Payment of the Levy may be by instalment if allowed by Natural England
• Where there is more than one liable person, the responsibility to pay the Levy is joint and several
• Where no one assume liability Natural England may impose liability to pay the Levy on the landowner provided that certain conditions are first met
• The Regulations allows for surcharges, surcharges specifically for late payment interest and the imposition of interest on late payment
• Natural England is empowered to issue stop notices after serving a warning notice; and injunctions for breaches of the stop notice
• There are provisions relating to appealing the Levy amount, surcharges and interest, service of warning and stop notices.

The Charging Schedule

This is the lynchpin of how the Levy will be calculated. Natural England set the rates within the Charging Schedule within each EDP taking into account:

• The environmental pressures in the EDP area
• The conservation measures required and the scale of the environmental impact anticipated from the development
• The full cost of delivering those measures and the proportionate contribution from each development type
• Administrative costs associated with the EDP

This means that the Levy rates are directly linked to the ecological needs of the area as assessed in the EDP and ensures that the Levy is a cost recovery mechanism only as opposed to revenue raising.

The formula for calculating the provisional Levy amount is:

(P × IL) / IC

where

“P” is the provisional amount;

“IL” is the index figure for the calendar year in which levy liability arose;

“IC” is the index figure for the calendar year in which the applicable charging schedule

took effect.

Conclusion

None of the provisions in the Regulations are unexpected. It remains to be seen how developers will take to the new regime – remembering of course that EDPs are not mandatory unless specifically stated to be so – and whether EDPs and NRLs produce better outcomes for the environment.

Natural England recognises that this is challenging especially as Natural England are not getting additional funding, has “low” confidence in meeting the array of reforms (internal and external) including planning policy reforms.

If you have any questions about how the new regime may impact you, get in touch with our expert planning team.