Right to make green challenges to planning decisions under threat, say UK lawyers

Exclusive: Government in ‘private meetings’ about removing cost cap protections under Aarhus convention

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The government is considering stripping back legal protections that limit the costs community groups face when challenging planning decisions that threaten nature.

The Aarhus convention, an environmental treaty that was signed into law by the UK in 2005, guarantees the legal right to participate in democratic processes on environmental matters – such as sewage pollution, new roads or datacentre developments.