Britain Remade

In the Guardian, I argue that Britain’s nature protections often lead to expensive, ineffective mitigations and, paradoxically, harm nature in the long run because they make it harder to build the clean energy infrastructure we need to tackle climate change.

How can we really protect Britain’s environment? Well-intentioned laws designed to safeguard nature frequently have the opposite effect

How can we really protect Britain’s environment?

Well-intentioned laws designed to safeguard nature frequently have the opposite effect, says @samdumitriu.bsky.social @britainremade.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/books/2026/m...

The Shoreditch Works application has taken 4 years and 9,000 pages of documents. Hackney Council has concluded what this project needs is… more documents.

Labour’s 1.5 million homes target is almost certainly not going to be reached A boom is possible, but it will be too little, too late for the target

NEW: Labour are on track to miss their 1.5 million home by a distance.

Our analysis of planning application data predicts only 800,000 homes will be built in England by 2029.

Just 3.4% of people in England live somewhere on track to meet their housing target.

www.samdumitriu.com/p/labours-15...

NEW: This government on track to build fewer homes than the last one.

They need ~45k planning applications a month for the 1.5m home target.

They're nowhere near it, and only on track to build 800,000.

We now need a sustained surge in building, Sam Richards tells @itvnews.bsky.social.

Scotland for Nuclear Energy Nuclear energy brings jobs, investment and clean power to Scotland.

Join the campaign by filling out the form at the bottom of this page.

www.newnuclearenergy.scot#supporters

Scotland For Nuclear Energy - Coalition Launch · Luma Join us for the launch of the Scotland For Nuclear Energy coalition campaign. Scotland has the sites, skills and nuclear energy heritage to play a major role…

Agree with the campaign? Join us at tonight's launch event in Glasgow.

luma.com/x6368f2f

'Scotland will be left behind unless SNP ends nuclear objection' Scotland risks being left behind in the world unless the Government urgently ends its opposition to nuclear energy, a coalition of businesses and…

How we're making the case:

- Nuclear energy is clean power that can complement Scotland's renewables

- New nuclear brings jobs and investment that can transform communities and set young Scots up for life

- Banning nuclear is deindustrialisation

www.heraldscotland.com/news/2582708...

Scotland will be left behind unless SNP ends nuclear objection, group warns Scotland for Nuclear Energy said the country could miss out on jobs and economic growth if it does not add nuclear to the power mix.

The communities that have hosted nuclear power are its strongest supporters.

"In the north Highlands, we have lived the reality of nuclear energy for decades and the transformative impact on our economy." - North Highland Chamber of Commerce.

www.the-independent.com/news/busines...

Scotland for Nuclear Energy Nuclear energy brings jobs, investment and clean power to Scotland.

Scotland has the sites, skills and nuclear energy heritage to play a major role in the global renaissance of nuclear energy.

Nations all over the world are exploring the next generation of nuclear energy technology. Scotland shouldn't be left out.

www.newnuclearenergy.scot

Logo for the Scotland For Nuclear Energy campaign.

Today we're part of the launch of Scotland For Nuclear Energy - a coalition of communities, businesses and campaigners calling on the Scottish Government to lift the ban on new nuclear power in Scotland.

More information and coverage of the launch below.

Would you say a 9,054-page planning application for an office block and some flats is:
A) Too long
B) About right
C) Not long enough
If you answered C, congratulations! You could work at Hackney Council.

Anatomy of a Planning Refusal When 7,500 pages isn’t enough detail

This is a must-read.

A forensic analysis of a planning application (and a report from planners recommending its refused).

Kafkaesque is over-used, but it is the perfect description of the process so far for the extremely popular Shoreditch Works scheme.

EMAIL YOUR MP: Don't U-Turn On Cheaper, Faster Nuclear Energy We can’t afford a U-turn the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce's recommendations must be accepted in full.

EMAIL YOUR MP: join the call for no U-turn on the Fingleton recommendations.

www.britainremade.co.uk/backthenucle...

An incredibly correct letter, signed by no less than ten former guests on YIMBY Pod/The Abundance Agenda!

Image shows the full text of the letter signed by 45 figures. The letter is too long for alt text, but can be summarised as defending the Fingleton review over a recent Wildlife Trusts report on these grounds: Some nature NGOs have now begun to campaign against recommendations 11, 12, and 19 of the review. These reforms would: · Remove the costly requirement for like-for-like on-site environmental mitigation (11) · Create a streamlined alternative pathway for compliance with the habitats regulation that would unlock significant funding for nature recovery (12) · Remove the vague National Park Duty introduced by the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (19)

NEW: 45 leading figures from academia, business and politics tell Ed Miliband "Don't U-turn" on the commitment to implement every recommendation of the Fingleton Nuclear Regulatory Review.

Full letter below.

Is it me or is this really egregious?

Green NGOs have published a briefing claiming that the Fingleton Review into nuclear regulation made up a key case study.

The only problem is they didn't. And it isn't hard to check.

Hi John, we're just suggesting that sites where car parks make up more than 25% of the area get the brownfield discount to the Building Safety Levy - this would increase incentives building there (including demolishing existing buildings) as brownfield development is more expensive to do.

Britain’s latest renewables auction locks in higher prices. Britain just bought 8.4GW of wind power. Expect bills to go up.

NEW: Britain's latest CfD auction secured a record 8.4GW of wind capacity.

New projects will be awarded 20-year fixed-price contracts at £91 per MWh. The highest price 2015.

Why has wind power got more expensive and what will it mean for bills?

www.samdumitriu.com/p/britains-l...

Britain’s latest renewables auction locks in higher prices. Britain just bought 8.4GW of wind power. Expect bills to go up.

Britain has bought 8.4GW of new wind capacity on 20 year contracts at £91.20 per MWh.

What does this mean for energy bills? For decarbonisation? And why have renewables got more expensive?

@samdumitriu.bsky.social explains in his new Substack.

www.samdumitriu.com/p/britains-l...

The Building Safety Levy is broken Badly drafted regulations will make building on brownfield much harder

It is more expensive to build on previously-developed land than greenfield. A new tax on housebuilding (Building Safety Levy) was meant to have a lower rate for it.

One problem: the discount is defined in a way that rules out almost all brownfield sites.

www.samdumitriu.com/p/the-buildi...

The Government have come up with another new tax proposal that will make it harder to build where they most need to.

Are supermarkets, industrial estates, and railway sidings 'brownfield land'?

The answer is no.

At least that's what the Government's definition for a new tax on housebuilding says.

Our campaign director Sam Richards explains.

Bodge-up and Badger The Abundance Agenda has a new name!

So do check out this week's show as it's a good one. We've got:
- Badgers making life miserable for one village
- The biggest infrastructure project you've never heard of
- And Michael Hill from @britainremade.bsky.social on China and Net-Zero Tech!

www.abundancepod.com/p/bodge-up-a...

How worried should we be about our reliance on China for Net Zero? The risky business of energy security

New: Britain can't decarbonise quickly without buying a lot of Chinese tech.

What are the risks of becoming dependent on China for solar panels, batteries, and EVs?

Britain Remade's China expert Michael Hill explains what we should and shouldn't worry about.

www.samdumitriu.com/p/how-worrie...

Why China Dominates Green Supply Chains They are not geniuses, evil or otherwise.

From solar panels to EVs, China dominates green supply chains.

So how did they get there?

@britainremade.bsky.social's Michael Hill explains that it wasn't some grand strategy, but applying the East Asian industrial model to 1.4bn people.

www.samdumitriu.com/p/why-china-...

This is potentially one of the most transformational policies this government has done if it holds its nerve.

Really good and thoughtful write-up of one of the most positive changes Labour is attempting to make, this:

Labour are finally taking the housing shortage seriously Is the new National Planning Policy Framework Labour’s biggest pro-growth move?

NEW: Labour just announced the biggest change in planning policy in 80 years.

My breakdown of the key measures and whether they will succeed.

www.samdumitriu.com/p/labour-are...

Pause this GIF for proof that Britain's forgotten how to build.👇