Environmentalists have accused the government of “being nasty” to bats and wrongly suggesting that the animals are holding back economic growth. As part of chancellor Rachel Reeves’s “radical shake-up” of red tape to promote growth, officials said on Monday that guidance on protecting bats will be looked at afresh. “It should not be the case that to convert a garage or outbuilding you need to wade through hundreds of pages of guidance on bats,” the Treasury said in a statement. The charity said the change was a “shock”. • How bats became the housebuilder’s enemy No 1Doug

Source: The Times March 17, 2025 15:29 UTC