The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has called for the UK Government to scrap draft legislation that would "significantly downgrade" regulations protecting the country's rarest wildlife.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill, currently passing through Parliament, has been criticised for its potential to harm nature.

The trust said it would threaten the UK's most cherished wildlife and put protected sites, such as the New Forest and Hampshire's chalk streams, at risk.

Debbie Tann MBE, chief executive of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, said: "Labour promised to protect and restore nature, but the deeply flawed Planning Bill would break that manifesto pledge and betray millions of voters.

"It would be the biggest – and most damaging – change to environmental protections in a generation."

She added that part three of the bill, which has been "falsely sold as a way of streamlining both development and nature recovery", would lead to "yet more confusion and delays for developers, with our fragile wildlife again having to pay the price".

Under the new proposals, developers could circumvent current requirements to avoid harm by paying into a "nature restoration fund" instead.

The legislation would also weaken vital habitat regulations, which have protected at-risk wildlife and wild spaces for decades.

The Office for Environmental Protection recently declared that the bill would cause environmental regression.

The Wildlife Trusts and other NGOs have called for amendments to tone down the most damaging aspects of the bill, but these have been rejected by the Government.

The Wildlife Trusts have now joined forces with the RSPB to call for part three of the bill to be scrapped.

Debbie added: "The government must now listen to the experts – including their own watchdog who labelled the bill ‘environmentally regressive’ – and row back from rushing into making the biggest change to environmental laws for a generation.

"Wildlife and nature is not a blocker – it is central to everything we hold dear, and we must defend it.

"Part three of this bill would have devastating consequences for our already depleted natural world and it simply cannot be allowed to happen.

"The only decision is to scrap it."