Developers ‘clearing wildlife habitats without approval to win planning permission’

Exclusive: ‘It’s hideous in a biodiversity crisis, but these are the forces we’re up against,’ say householders

Developers have been accused of underhand tactics in clearing wildlife habitats from sites before planning applications are submitted or granted.

The strategy is not illegal, but residents and conservationists say it is undemocratic and a menace to biodiversity.

It’s claimed that building companies move on to sites they have earmarked and remove vegetation, reducing wildlife populations so that surveys prepared for decision-makers show less wildlife there – increasing the chances that planning approval will be given.