Image source, PA Media Image caption,

Developers and housebuilders are preparing to deliver biodiversity net gain

By Claire Marshall & Malcolm Prior

BBC News Rural Affairs team

The government is delaying putting into effect new environmental laws forcing developers to improve countryside and wildlife habitats, the BBC has learned.

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) was meant to become a mandatory part of the planning system in England in November.

But government sources told the BBC it will now not be introduced this year.

Environmentalists have lamented the delay. The government said it was still committed to the policy and would soon announce a new implementation date.

The Wildlife Trusts called the delay "another hammer blow for nature".

BNG policy was approved as part of the 2021 Environment Act. The rules are designed to ensure developers leave the natural environment in a measurably better state than it was beforehand.

The delay comes after weeks of political uncertainty on environmental policy, with the government looking to throw out "nutrient neutrality" pollution rules and to water down policy on achieving net zero.

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), an industry body that promotes sustainable development, said any delayed implementation of BNG would "hurt green businesses and development".