COLCHESTER councillors have been forced to accept a “seriously worrying” change to planning rules to help support biodiversity, it has been claimed.

The Government is set to introduce new rules as part of its Environment Bill this autumn.

The net gain rule means if a developer affects the biodiversity of an area, they will have to replace it with more than they have removed.

But councillors say the approach is “open to so much abuse” and does not address the issues around climate change.

Lib Dem Andrea Luxford Vaughan said: “I don’t think it goes anywhere close to addressing a climate emergency because basically it doesn’t equate to the net loss.

“It is a policy that provides cover for politicians, including us, and therefore allows for economic benefit for developers and bankers just to carry on business as usual and I think to use it to justify questionable development is seriously worrying.”

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Councillors are also worried this will allow developers to appear environmentally friendly while giving them easier access to green spaces.

Replacing areas destroyed by developments with new plants can take hundreds of years to offset the carbon released as a result.

Conservative councillor Andrew Ellis agreed with the plans in principle, but was “frustrated” by them in their current form.

He said the idea was “a great one – the execution is probably not so good”.

He added: “I think it’s open to so much abuse at the moment that it still needs an awful lot of work.”

Biodiversity levels will be measured by a nationally recognised standard unveiled by Natural England in early July.

Councillors are worried developers will be able to offset biodiversity lost in Colchester with net gain outside the borough.

But officers say national guidance would prevent this. They are also pushing for Colchester to receive its own interim guidance in order to identify and protect its unique green assets.

Natural England chairman Tony Juniper said: “Investing in Nature’s recovery is a vital national priority. These innovative new tools will help advance that ambition via the development planning process, ensuring we leave the natural environment – both terrestrial and marine – in a measurably better state than it was before.”