Government rolls back nature protections to boost housing

The UK government has rolled back nature protections to facilitate more housing development in England, exempting builders from the requirement to improve wildlife habitats on their sites. The changes to Biodiversity Net Gain rules have sparked criticism from nature charities concerned about potential setbacks to nature recovery efforts. These alterations are part of broader planning reforms aimed at boosting home construction in line with the government's target of 1.5 million new homes.