Increase data-sharing, and transparency, on environmental data
Increase environmental data sharing
DEFRA should use its existing Data Services Platform as a single home for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) related data. DEFRA should curate and host these datasets in line with Cabinet Office technical and metadata standards that make them interoperable. Any additional data that developers collect as part of the EIA process should be added to the repository as a condition of approval.
The NDA should make available any environmental survey and data assessment to potential developers who could utilise their sites.
The EIA Regulations and the Habitats Regulations should be amended so that developers are required to publish high-level cost estimates of the assessment process and any mitigations that are reasonably capable of costing more than £500,000. Where such mitigation is reported, the decisionmaker must decide whether the mitigation is proportionate and explain why the mitigation does not discourage development coming forward in the future. This will help to improve transparency about the cost of mitigations and help assess their proportionality.
Government Response: Environmental data repository and transparency
The Government will publish environmental datasets in a central repository within two years, with developers required to contribute their data as a condition of approval. The NDA will make its survey data available to potential developers of its sites — a practical step that could significantly reduce duplicative surveying costs. The Government will also explore addressing the cost estimates over GBP 500,000 transparency requirement through the EOR framework. The two-year timeline for the central repository is reasonable but extends beyond the original June 2026 target date.
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June 2026
Notes: Govt response: Central repository within two years (from March 2026)
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