Draft Conservation of Habitats and Species (Offshore Wind) (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2026

Sarah Dyke Excerpts

Monday 27th April 2026 General Committees

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Harris. The Liberal Democrats support the expansion of offshore wind and renewables as part of our commitment to achieving 95% decarbonisation of power by 2030. We are equally committed to the principle that climate and nature must be tackled together, not as competing priorities. With carefully planned development, we can achieve those goals while avoiding significant harm to nature and actively furthering its recovery. But we are concerned that these changes represent a shift away from existing safeguards that prioritise the protection of specific sites towards a more flexible framework that may not always ensure direct or equivalent restoration of affected habitats.

Without sufficient compensation measures, a surge in offshore wind could push declining sea bird populations and other species and habitats over the edge. If rushed and implemented poorly, it could result in the collapse of entire marine ecosystems and undermine the environmental and economic security of those areas. We are further concerned that key details about how this new framework will operate in practice have been left to guidance that has not yet been finalised. That limits Parliament’s ability to fully scrutinise the real-world impact of these changes, and raises questions about how consistent and robust the new framework will be once it is applied. We will therefore abstain on this statutory instrument.