Natural England has launched the ‘Living England’ project, which utilises satellite imagery, targeted field surveys, and machine learning to map and accurately predict habitat classes across England. The resulting data will be used to inform policy decisions, streamline planning processes, and guide land use decisions while enhancing nature protection.

Natural England has published its Action Plan for 2025–26 detailing how it will implement its new Strategic Direction, ‘Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security’. The plan outlines six strategic priorities and describes how the organisation will operate within a constrained funding environment while delivering targeted investment and internal reforms. To support delivery, Natural England will implement four reform programmes focused on statutory service reform, organisational restructuring, planning policy reform, and modernising internal systems.

Natural England (NE) has published its Action Plan for 2024 to 2025.

The Natural England (NE) has published the Marine Habitats and Species Open Data (England) Guidance, which explains how the Marine Habitats and Species (MHabS) Open dataset is compiled, updated and used as the authoritative open‑access spatial evidence base for non‑mobile marine habitats and species in English waters. The guidance outlines the annual Marine Evidence Cycle, including data collation from surveys and Marine Recorder, standardisation using the European Nature Information System (EUNIS) habitat classification, application of Mapping European Seabed Habitats (MESH) confidence scores and internal quality assurance processes. It distinguishes between MHabS Open and the Marine Protected Area Habitats and Species (MPAHabS) dataset, which includes only legally designated features, and confirms publication under the Open Government Licence to support geographic information system analysis and marine conservation decision‑making.

Natural England has published its State of Natural Capital report, providing a comprehensive assessment of the state of ecosystem assets. The report outlines actions and opportunities to restore ecosystems, mitigate adverse impacts, and prioritise natural capital in decision making processes. It examines the consequences of the state of natural capital for economic resilience, Net Zero, climate adaptation, food security, health and well-being, and water security, identifying priority actions required to address the risks for each policy area. It also introduces a new method for a Risk Register, identifying which ecosystems and benefits are most at risk and the associated reasons.

Natural England has published its action plan 2026–27, setting out priorities for reforming its statutory planning, licensing and protected sites work. Under the proposed statutory consultee delivery model, Natural England plans to shift from case-by-case consultation towards earlier, solutions-focused engagement on cases it identifies as high risk or high opportunity, including Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), major housing developments and energy projects. The plan also provides for the implementation of Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs), wider use of standing advice to enable planners and developers to make decisions without direct consultation and streamlined licensing through class licensing and expanded earned autonomy arrangements. Alongside these changes, Natural England plans to introduce a new operational framework for planning consultations and make use of landscape-scale and strategic interventions rather than site-by-site casework. Natural England has stated that the implementation of some of these measures will depend on wider government planning and environmental reforms.

Natural England has published updated standing advice for local planning authorities on how to assess the effects of air pollution from development proposals on protected sites in England. The advice explains how authorities should screen and assess planning applications that emit pollutants such as ammonia, nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide and that may affect sites protected under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, SI 2017/1012 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Special Protection Areas, Special Areas of Conservation and Ramsar sites. It confirms that the guidance is a material consideration in planning decisions and is intended to reduce the need for case-by-case consultation with Natural England, except where proposals fall outside its scope, such as nationally significant infrastructure projects or local plans.

Natural England has published guidance on how Local Sites in England should be selected, managed, reviewed and deselected. Local Sites are areas of significant nature conservation value that are selected locally and are not legally protected but rely on local policy and decision-making. The guidance states that Local Sites partnerships must assess sites using locally agreed criteria and up-to-date ecological or geological evidence. Partnerships should monitor selected sites, support their management and generally review them every five to 10 years. Sites may be deselected if they no longer meet the criteria, although partnerships should first consider whether they can be restored. The guidance also sets out the role of Local Sites in biodiversity and planning policy, including their status as a material consideration in planning decisions.  Where development is proposed on or near a Local Site, applicants should assess the likely impacts and take steps to avoid, minimise, restore or compensate for harm. Local planning authorities should consider the site's ecological or geological value and assess whether the proposal complies with relevant legislation and planning policy.

Natural England has published guidance detailing how it assesses the condition of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and the enforcement process for landowners. It defines six condition categories: favourable, unfavourable recovering, unfavourable no change, unfavourable declining, part destroyed, and destroyed based on whether designated features meet site-specific monitoring targets, with favourable indicating full compliance, recovering indicating progress under appropriate and timely actions, no change and declining indicating failure to meet targets (with declining worsening over time), and part destroyed or destroyed indicating irreversible loss. Natural England carries out condition assessments through site visits, typically at least every six years depending on how quickly features change, assessing each feature against defined standards and notifying landowners of results and any required management changes, with summaries usually published within six weeks. Where sites are not in favourable or recovering condition, Natural England applies a staged improvement process, beginning with voluntary management agreements, followed by formal management schemes where necessary, and, if non-compliance continues, issuing management notices requiring specified works, with potential enforcement action including prosecution, recovery of costs, or compulsory purchase, subject to a right of appeal to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Natural England has published guidance titled 'Healthy Outdoors: A guide for measuring health outcomes when evaluating outdoor interventions', developed with cross-government partners and wider stakeholders to support consistent and robust evaluation of outdoor interventions. The guidance provides a practical framework for organisations across government, the NHS, the voluntary and community sector, academia and the private sector, setting out that evaluations should record how interventions are delivered, the resources used, the activities undertaken, where they take place, and levels of participation. It explains that this information is necessary to assess feasibility, replicability and the influence of local context, and recommends collecting participant characteristics and feedback on satisfaction and accessibility to understand reach, engagement and differences in outcomes.

Natural England has published guidance and referee forms for survey class licence applications in England covering great crested newts, hazel dormice, barn owls and white-clawed crayfish, setting out the skills, experience and evidence required to support applications, registrations and licence upgrades. Applicants must demonstrate relevant species knowledge, practical survey and handling experience gained within the previous three years, and an understanding of relevant wildlife legislation and best practice. Evidence may include recent licences, training certificates or written references, with most new applicants, those seeking additional activities, or those without a relevant recent licence required to provide two references, while certain applicants need only one. Referees must be wildlife professionals with direct knowledge of the applicant’s work and recent experience of holding a similar licence, and must confirm the applicant’s competence to undertake the licensed activities. The guidance also outlines additional requirements for specific licences, circumstances in which exceptions may be considered, including for volunteers and those returning from career breaks, and confirms that Natural England may seek further information and may reject applications supported by inadequate evidence.

Natural England has published an operational statement setting out changes to how it provides planning advice from 1 October 2026. Under the new approach, Natural England will focus on proposals presenting the greatest risks or opportunities for nature, prioritising complex and strategic cases and earlier engagement, while established guidance and standing advice will support decision-making on more routine matters. The changes will be introduced gradually. The reforms follow amendments made by the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 to Natural England’s duty under section 4 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, specifically in relation to planning casework under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Natural England said its statutory responsibilities for protecting habitats, species and designated sites remain unchanged.