Speeches by Heylings.

“To follow up on what Olivia was asking, from the previous panel we heard that the monitoring that you have been talking about is really difficult because the Environment Agency is not doing it. You say that you have been doing this 12-year joint monitoring project that is the first of its kind, and yet it is not actual…”

“It is 860,000.”

“If we could be positive, following on from Mr Gardiner’s questions, sometimes the delivery programme and the need to get it done, for the value for money reasons that were quoted, could challenge or be in contradiction with the expertise and advice given about the planting season. I do not want you to answer that now, …”

“Our concern is that you said deep lessons have been learned, and yet we are not hearing them. That is the key thing here. It is worrying, actually. We are ready to hear that there is improvement.”

“Would you? Thank you.”

“From what I am hearing, you do understand that because of this it is hard for many to have trust in both biodiversity net gain and tree planting for large infrastructure. You have a commitment not just to the engineering and building of the infrastructure, but to the land and the tree.”

“You are?”

“At a future meeting, you would be prepared to provide that information, given that you have given a commitment today that there will be—”

“We heard from the previous panel how important monitoring and data is, and you have just mentioned that. Through the DCO, the local authorities have the role to do the monitoring. That information should be available to the local authorities for scrutiny, to bring back that trust and to be able to know what is happenin…”

“I find it quite shocking that you have come to this Committee, knowing that this particular example would be one of the issues with the greatest lessons to be learned. Chair, if you allow me, I also know that the transport committee of Cambridgeshire County Council asked these same questions and no information was fort…”

“I know that, because there were serious local concerns, following the DCO and at the time when the planting was being considered, there was a group between Highways England at the time—now National Highways—the local authorities, the experts that came, the local councils and the local community. There was expertise bro…”

“No, I mean after the DCO, when you then did the design of the actual planting.”

“This A14 improvement scheme is declared to be award-winning. Proudly, at the outset, it was said to be an early adopter. Its 11.5% biodiversity net gain, tree planting—there are differences—and noise and air pollution approach enabled it to get through the development consent order process. This is in Cambridge, where …”

“It did exist, yes.”

“Was it seen as a heavy-handed approach?”

“Would you see yourself as chair being on that board as well—would that be useful time?”

“In your role as high-level champion, as you have said, you brought a wealth of experience in terms of industry, business, investors in the financial sector, but I want to explore how you see that you can bring that in terms of your relationship with the Government. As you said, you would lean into your experience and s…”

“You may start exploring that, first of all, to see which of the Departments it is bringing in to it within the board.”

“As we have just heard, the Government have put forward the Net Zero Mission Board, which in essence surely should be bringing together in a way a mechanism, in the same way you have that cross-ministerial, cross-departmental look. It seems, though, that you would like some separate sessions as well. How do you see that…”

“Yet again, we are suffering record-breaking heatwaves and drought. That is worrying people in my constituency, which is both the fastest-growing and the most water-stressed area in the country. The proposed fens reservoir is important, but will provide water only for the already ambitious house building plans, not the …”