Bright Blue's latest report, Nature positive?, launched in The Times

Bright Blue’s latest report, Nature positive?, was launched in The Times. The article outlined results which emerged from the polling in the report, showing that 67 per cent of adults under 35 but only 39 per cent of over-55s supported new development on the green belt if it complied with government plans to require builders to offset damage to the natural environment. Overall 53 per cent supported such development.

Bright Blue’s Senior Research Fellow and report author, Patrick Hall, was quoted: “The government is aiming to build 300,000 houses a year by the mid-2020s to help increase home ownership, which is so vital to the Conservative Party’s electoral prospects. However, we’ve seen pushback from Tory heartlands and green groups about the impact of housing development on local communities and the natural environment.

“Introducing and enforcing the biodiversity net gain principle would help. The public is more likely to support housing development under such a principle, even on the green belt.”

You can read our report here, and the full article here.