Housing developers will be able to build on once-protected green spaces without having to replace the loss of nature in the nearby area, the Guardian understands.
New nature areas, parks and community gardens created to offset the removal of green spaces to make way for housing developments may not even have to be in the same county, under the new planning and infrastructure bill, sources at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said on Thursday.
The planning and infrastructure bill, which is currently at committee stage, has provisions to allow developers to build on green spaces and remove nature from local areas, if they pay into a fund which will create habitats elsewhere. The aim is to streamline regulations for developers so they can speed up their projects and the Labour government can meet its target for delivering 1.5m new homes by the end of this parliament in 2029.
Labour: more competent Tories.