SEPARATING ‘the facts from the fiction’ will be the aim of a Somerset Wildlife Trust (SWT) webinar session next week covering how new housing developments go through the planning process.

The trust, which celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, wants to stop species such as newts and bats being blamed for holding up the building of new homes in the county.

A spokesperson said: “We know it is not ‘growth v nature’.

“We will be sorting the facts from the fiction and digging into some of the polarised language appearing in the headlines recently and the blame being placed on species like newts and bats.

“We will also be giving you a basic overview of how you can engage with different layers of the planning system, encouraging the integration of nature into the process from the beginning.”

The online ‘Wilder Matters: Nature and Planning’ session will be held on Wednesday (June 11) from 7 pm to 8.30 pm.

The webinar will provide the trust’s views on which species might be affected by new building, why species monitoring is so important, how people might respond to a planning application, and some of the valid reasons for objecting.

A panel of experts taking part will include The Wildlife Trusts head of land use planning Becky Pullinger, SWT nature recovery manager Daniel Mackley, and SWT chief executive Georgia Dent.

The webinar is part of SWT’s ‘Wilder Matters’ series of online events aimed at helping people go to the heart of the biggest environmental topics of the moment and their relevance to Somerset.

The spokesperson said: “We recommend you join us on the night for the full experience, as we cannot guarantee recordings will be made available promptly after the event.”

Places for the session are free but need to be booked online.