Government accused of going back on green economy pledge

CONSERVATIONISTS have accused the Government of weakening rules to make developers pay to boost nature, hitting jobs and private investment in restoring wildlife.

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the government is trying to unblock the planning system by changing protections for wildlife like the great crested newt (pictured)

(MANDY JONES/PA WIRE)

New exemptions for England's "biodiversity net gain" (BNG) rules risk hollowing out the emerging market in which developers have to pay not only to replace habitat lost to development, but to deliver a 10% gain for nature, they warn.

The Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL) coalition of environment and nature groups called for swift action to close loopholes, which they say are already seeing more than four fifths of developments claiming exemption from the rules.