Biodiversity in Wales: What the new Environment Bill means for Welsh consenting

The Senedd’s approval of the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill (the Bill) on the 24 February 2026 marks an evolution of the journey to how environmental considerations must be considered across Wales’ regulatory landscape. While the Bill has clear implications for environmental governance and biodiversity. It is likely that the Bill will receive Royal Assent in April 2026.

Welsh Ministers have also provided an Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill which can be found here. 

This article explores what the new framework means for planning practice and project delivery. You can also read our Environment team’s thoughts on this bill here: 'Landmark' Welsh Legislation: The Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill passed by Senedd Cymru - Burges Salmon.

The Bill is set out into four parts: 

• Part 1: Focusses on Environmental Objectives and Principles; 

• Part 2: Establishes the Office of Environmental Governance Wales (OEGW);

• Part 3: Introduces legally binding Biodiversity Targets; and 

• Part 4: Sets out the regulation powers throughout the bill and when each provision will come into force.

It is worth noting at this point that the majority of the provisions will require secondary instruments to bring them into force, with only a handful of provisions coming into force following 2 or 6 months following Royal Assent (see section 44 of the Bill for trigger points).  

1. A new statutory baseline for environmental decisions

The Bill enshrines four environmental principles, precaution, prevention, rectification at source, and the proviso of the polluter pays into Welsh law. These principles will now be applied by Ministers and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) when preparing environmental policy, and certain other public authorities, when carrying out strategic environmental assessment (SEA).  

For the planning system, this creates a expectation that environmental impacts are considered early, systematically, and proactively. Local planning authorities (LPAs) preparing development plans, and Welsh Ministers determining major development or infrastructure projects, will likely need to demonstrate:

• How harm has been prevented rather than mitigated;

• How the ability to rectify impacts at source has been assessed; and

• How costs of environmental damage have been internalised within scheme design.

While this reinforces the importance of robust evidence in planning decisions, it largely aligns with existing requirements already established under Planning Policy Wales (PPW) Chapter 6 (Historic Environment) and will continue to shape Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and related environmental processes within Welsh planning.

2. The Office of Environmental Governance Wales 

A central feature of the Bill is the creation of an independent watchdog, the OEGW, who will be empowered to hold public authorities to account for compliance with environmental law. 

For planners and promoters of major schemes, the existence of a new watchdog, OEGW means:

• A clearer route for third‑party complaints about compliance with environmental duties;

• A greater emphasis on robust, transparent reasoning in planning reports and decision notices;

• Potential for OEGW investigations to intersect with or run parallel to planning processes.

This will add a new governance layer to the Welsh planning system, emphasising the need for decision‑makers to evidence their consideration of environmental obligations.

3. Legally binding biodiversity targets

By requiring Welsh Ministers to set legally binding biodiversity recovery targets, and by amending the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 to establish a structured target setting framework, the Bill creates a statutory driver for nature recovery that planning will play a central role in delivering. The Bill places a duty upon Welsh Ministers to set at least one target in priority areas (native species, effective management of ecosystems, pollution reduction and the quality of evidence). 

Once targets are adopted, LPAs and developers should expect:

• Stronger biodiversity enhancement requirements within Local Development Plans (LDPs);

• Greater scrutiny of scheme‑level biodiversity net gain (BNG) outcomes;

• More consistent integration of resilience and ecosystem services into planning assessments.

Although Wales has not mirrored England’s mandatory BNG regime, the new targets will nonetheless exert material weight in planning decisions. In practice, this is likely to narrow the gap between policy-led enhancement and mandatory expectations at the application stage. There is also a duty on Welsh Ministers to promote awareness of the importance of, and threats to biodiversity. 

4. Implications for strategic planning, infrastructure, and thresholds of acceptable harm

The Bill’s strengthened governance and biodiversity framework will directly influence:

• National planning policy updates: future revisions of Future Wales: The National Plan, Planning Policy Wales and Technical Advice Notes;

• Design and consenting strategies: for major energy, transport, and water infrastructure, particularly where projects interact with sensitive habitats.

This is particularly relevant for promoters where front‑loaded environmental reasoning will become increasingly important.

The Bill represents a reinforcement of Wales’ environmental governance, with direct and meaningful consequences for the planning system. By mandating stronger environmental principles, establishing an independent oversight body, and putting biodiversity recovery on a statutory footing, Wales is signaling that planning must fully embed environmental protection at every stage.

For promoters, authorities, and stakeholders, early preparation will remain important. While the direction of travel suggests planning decisions in Wales will continue to place emphasis on integrated and transparent consideration of environmental outcomes, it is worth noting that the existing processes under PPW already provide a robust framework for environmental assessment and scrutiny, even at the early stages.

If you have any questions or would like to know more about the Bill and its possible impacts on your developments, please contact Cathryn Tracey, Adam Richards in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Team.