Mandated a hierarchy for Natural England to prioritize avoiding environmental damage over mitigation or compensation in development plans as of July 2026.

These Regulations establish a hierarchy of conservation measures that Natural England must follow when drafting or amending Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) under the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025.

The agency is directed to prioritize avoidance of environmental damage over mitigation, and mitigation over compensation, provided such prioritisation is deemed appropriate and delivers value for money.

These rules apply specifically to Natural England's administrative processes in England and require the agency to explicitly categorize all proposed conservation measures within their plans.

Commenced multiple sections of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 and established transitional arrangements for ongoing infrastructure applications and highway schemes.

These Regulations bring several provisions of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 into legal force on various dates throughout 2026.

The instrument activates sections concerning Natural England's advisory role, the transfer of transport functions, and significant reforms to the development consent process for infrastructure projects under the Planning Act 2008.

These changes apply to the Secretary of State, local planning authorities, Natural England, and applicants for major infrastructure developments in England and Wales.

Amended airport slot usage rules to allow airlines to return a portion of allocated capacity during 2026 without forfeiting future historic rights.

These Regulations amend the rules governing how airport slot usage is calculated for the Summer 2026 and Winter 2026/27 scheduling periods at airports in England, Wales, and Scotland.

They authorize a temporary deviation from standard 'use-it-or-lose-it' thresholds by allowing air carriers to return up to 10% of their allocated slots—in two distinct 5% phases—without those slots counting against their usage record for future entitlement.

To qualify for this alleviation, carriers must have held historic rights to the slots, provided at least 14 days' notice to passengers regarding cancellations, and confirmed they have not ceased operations at the airport.

The Regulations apply to airport slot coordinators and air carriers operating at coordinated airports.

The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Bristol) (Emergency) (No. 2) Regulations 2026 have been revoked, discontinuing emergency flying limitations in the Bristol area.

These Regulations officially revoke the emergency flight restrictions that were previously imposed over a specified area in Bristol, as the Secretary of State for Transport determines that these restrictions are no longer required in the public interest following the passing of the initial emergency.

The Order established 500-metre safety zones around three offshore installations undergoing decommissioning and revoked safety zones for three other specific offshore features.

The Offshore Installations (Safety Zones) Order 2026 establishes 500-metre safety zones around three specified offshore installations—Global Producer III, Solan, and Wenlock, using coordinates based on the World Geodetic System 1984, specifically to maintain protection during their ongoing dismantlement phases.

This Order is made by the Secretary of State under the Petroleum Act 1987 and concurrently amends previous orders by removing safety zones related to the Thames Bure Wellhead, Thames Yare Wellhead, and the Victoria Subsea Production Well.

The Secretary of State imposed immediate, temporary emergency restrictions prohibiting low-altitude flight below 1,500 feet over the M5 Avon Bridge area near Bristol, effective immediately via Statutory Instrument.

The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Bristol) (Emergency) (No. 2) Regulations 2026, made using powers from the Air Navigation Order 2016, immediately prohibit aircraft from flying below 1,500 feet above mean sea level over a restricted area around the M5 Avon Bridge in Bristol, specifying a radius of 1.0 nautical mile; flights operating under directions from Avon and Somerset Police are explicitly exempted from this temporary, emergency measure.

The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Sourton Down, Devon) (Emergency) Regulations 2026 were revoked due to the conclusion of the emergency that prompted them.

This Statutory Instrument, made by the Secretary of State for Transport, immediately revokes the previous emergency regulations that restricted flying in the specified area of Sourton Down, Devon, because the necessity for those restrictions is deemed to have passed in the public interest.

The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Cramlington, Newcastle) (Emergency) Regulations 2026 were revoked with immediate effect following a decision that emergency flight restrictions were no longer necessary.

These Regulations formally revoke the preceding statutory instrument—The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Cramlington, Newcastle) (Emergency) Regulations 2026—because the Secretary of State for Transport has determined that the exceptional circumstances requiring the emergency restriction on flying over the Cramlington and Newcastle area are over, thereby immediately lifting all associated flight limitations.