WILDLIFE lovers fear Dorset’s rich countryside could be at risk under a shake-up of protection practices in the Budget.

Dorset Wildlife Trust and the RSPB are among a group lobbying for the government to maintain the level of protection for wildlife and nature under European laws.

The Chancellor George Osborne used his Autumn Statement in 2011 to announce a review of the way that the laws are put into practice.

They warned that a weakening of the Habitats and Birds Directives laws could see such landscapes and the wildlife they support at risk from inappropriate development.

Now they expect to hear an update of the review in the Chancellor’s budget tomorrow.

Tony Richardson, who is RSPB South West regional director, said: “The effective implementation of these directives provides a key test for sustainable development, of how we balance economic, social and environmental needs.

“They are fundamental to meeting our national and international biodiversity commitments.”

The RSPB and Dorset Wildlife Trust have joined forces with the Avon, Cornwall, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and Devon Wildlife Trusts for the campaign.

They want people and organisations to support their call by emailing the chancellor and contacting their own MPs before the Budget. Simon Cripps, chief executive of Dorset Wildlife Trust, said: “This legislation has been instrumental in protecting Dorset’s heaths from increasing urban pressures.

“For example, in the recent decision by the Secretary of State to turn down development at Talbot Heath in Bournemouth.

“Far from putting a stop to all new homes, a planning framework has been put in place in Dorset to enable development, provided it takes steps to avoid harming heathland.

“Our heaths are still under huge pressure from disturbance and damage near surrounding houses, and any reduction in legal protection could cause irreparable harm to an invaluable green space that contributes to Dorset’s economy and to the wellbeing and health of its communities.”

The Habitats and Birds Directives are responsible for the protection of much of the region’s wildlife through the designation of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas.

Mr Richardson said: “The government in ordering the review is keen to establish if the directives are a barrier to economic growth and if the UK is doing more than is required in their implementation – the often-repeated criticism is that they are ‘gold-plated’.”

He added that the vast majority of planning applications are unaffected by the directives and that the RSPB has found no evidence of gold-plating in English law.