October 2025
As a young person living in Britain today, I know how hard it is to find somewhere affordable. Like many others, I’ve faced struggles in finding suitable housing because those near places of work and study are simply out of reach. Young people want to be able to buy houses, to build a future for ourselves – but not if it comes at the cost of nature and the environment.
It’s not that the whole Planning and Infrastructure Bill is bad. But Part 3, in particular, is deeply worrying. The approach feels like “cash to trash”: a system that puts short-term profit ahead of long-term sustainability. On top of this, the way politicians talk about species protections is troubling. We’re constantly told that bats or newts are holding back housebuilding – but that simply isn’t true. In fact, only 3% of planning appeals even mention them. Weakening protections for species isn’t going to solve the housing crisis.
What young people want is sustainable development – new homes that don’t come at the cost of habitats or wildlife populations. And this isn’t just a dream; it’s possible. If we made better use of brownfield sites, CPRE estimates that we could build at least 1.2 million homes. That would get us most of the way towards the Government’s 1.5 million new homes target. And that’s not even counting the thousands of vacant properties and second homes already sitting empty.
So my message to the government wouldn’t be “don’t build.” It would be: build smarter. Use land more efficiently. Protect the species and habitats we all value. Deliver homes in a way that doesn’t strip away the very nature that makes places liveable in the first place.
Because ultimately, building homes and protecting nature should go hand in hand. My generation is facing enough challenges already – from unaffordable housing to the climate crisis. What we need is development that creates hope, not more destruction.
We don’t want to inherit a country where new estates have come at the cost of ancient hedgerows, wetlands, and skylarks. We want places to live, yes – but also places where nature thrives alongside us and helps us to thrive.
The opinions expressed in this blog are the authors' and not necessarily those of the wider Link membership.
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