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Plans to ease nuclear build rules could spell disaster for nature, says Wildlife Trusts

Jack Loughran, Engineering and Technology,
ENDS 20th Jan 2026

Government plans to cut environmental protections in a bid to make it easier to build nuclear power plants is “misguided” and based on “misleading advice”, the Wildlife Trusts has said.

Published in November 2025, the Nuclear Regulatory Review proposes a number of changes to the habitats regulations so that developers building nuclear plants would face less stringent requirements to avoid harming protected nature sites before they build.

In theory, it would allow developers to proceed, even if there is potential harm to nearby habitats, by moving directly to off-site compensation or mitigation rather than blocks to their original proposals.

But the Wildlife Trusts has said the rule changes would have “devastating consequences” for what remains of Britain’s natural landscape and warned that many habitats are “irreplaceable” and would be lost forever if proper protections were not in place.

Nuclear power plants were originally limited to just eight sites in the UK, but these restrictions are being scrapped ahead of a new wave of small modular reactors that are expected to be more numerous and constructed in various locations around the country.

The Wildlife Trusts said that a major expansion of the UK’s nuclear power infrastructure, which is planned by the government in order to decarbonise the energy grid, risks weakening critical environmental safeguards that protect habitats and landscapes across the country. The body also argues that the Nuclear Regulatory Review exaggerates the cost of adhering to nature regulations while underplaying the real ecological consequences of nuclear development near sensitive areas………………………………….. https://eandt.theiet.org/2026/01/20/plans-ease-nuclear-build-rules-could-spell-disaster-wildlife-says-wildlife-trusts

January 25, 2026 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment