Environmental lawyer says the Government ought to think carefully before removing mandatory biodiversity net gain obligations from an even larger category of developers

The UK has a 50:50 chance of seeing temperatures soar to 40C again in the next 12 years, as the risk of extreme heat rises with climate change, the Met Office said.

The meteorological experts also warned that far higher temperatures of 45C or more “may be possible” in today’s climate, while heatwaves could go on for a month or more.

Temperatures hit 40C in the UK for the first time on record amid the heatwave and drought summer of 2022, peaking at 40.3C in Coningsby in Lincolnshire on July 19, outstripping the previous top temperature of 38.7C in Cambridge, set just three years earlier, by 1.6C.

Richard Broadbent, Environmental Lawyer at leading law firm Freeths, said:

“As over 80% of people in this country live in urban areas, it is vital that we introduce measures to tackle higher temperatures over the coming decades. This includes ensuring that existing housing stock, and especially all new housing, benefits from greening measures such as on-site biodiversity net gain. The shading caused by trees and other vegetation has proven benefits in terms of reducing the Urban Heat Island effect. This includes the natural evapotranspiration of plants, which cools the air. We also know that living in close proximity with nature helps improve our mental and physical wellbeing. This is why, for example, the Government ought to think carefully before removing mandatory biodiversity net gain obligations from an even larger category of developers, which is a policy it is currently consulting on. Whilst we need to ease pressures on house builders so that we can get on with much needed development, we also need to ensure that our living spaces are properly equipped for the future”.