The Landscape Institute strongly opposes the removal of specialist bodies like the Gardens Trust and Sport England as statutory consultees, arguing that it would create an expertise vacuum. Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) lack the internal specialist capacity and resources to replace their expert oversight.

For the Gardens Trust, the LI emphasizes they provide irreplaceable advice for Registered Historic Parks and Gardens (RPGs). Crucially, they are the only statutory consultee for Grade II RPGs, which represent 65% of the Register; their removal would leave these vulnerable assets without any national specialist protection.

Regarding Sport England, we highlight the risk to publicly accessible green spaces that provide vital urban functions, including flood management, heat mitigation, and biodiversity. Their removal risks irreversible economic and health losses, as green infrastructure serves as a critical hidden subsidy to the NHS.

Overall, we believe that streamlining through removal is a false economy that shifts costs to under-resourced LPAs and risks the cumulative, incremental loss of essential heritage, environmental and community assets.