'Green thinking' must lead infrastructure design, says watchdog chair

Chair of Natural England wants environmental impact considerations baked into planning system

Instead of blaming protected newts for thwarting the build build build" agenda, politicians and developers must incorporate green thinking into the design of new infrastructure, according to the chair of the government's conservation watchdog.

Natural England's Tony Juniper called on the government and planners to change their thinking to ensure environmental considerations were designed into new housing estates, as well as road and rail projects, at the beginning, rather than being a hasty add-on" or mitigation" at the end.