GOVERNMENT ministers have been urged to do more to protect important species and habitats from development.
The Wildlife Trusts, the umbrella organisation for trusts around the country, hailed a new Government policy as an important step forward but said it did not go far enough.
Planning Policy Statement 9 (PPS9) on biodiversity and geological conservation is the first major update of Government planning policy on the subject in England for more than a decade.
The Wildlife Trusts supports the overall idea of the policy - that the planning system should enhance as well as protect biodiversity.
But the trust believes more training and financial support is required, as well as tough guidance from Government to ensure that councils consider wildlife when determining planning applications.
Among its concerns are designated local wildlife sites, which are not protected nature reserves and are, therefore, vulnerable to development.
John Everitt, head of conservation at The Wildlife Trusts, said: "We are in danger of failing both people and wildlife.
"There is a wealth of evidence to show that building biodiversity into new developments, rather than squeezing it out, adds enormously to our social and economic well-being and improves local quality of life."
Published: 04/10/2005
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