At the end of last month long-awaited information relating to the upcoming Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) legislation was published by Defra. Alongside a draft biodiversity gain plan template, guidance documents for both developers and local planning authorities (LPAs) were released. Our Operations Director and one of Meadfleet’s in-house ecologists, Samantha Hursey, looks at the details ahead of the launch of BNG in January:
Defra, The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Natural England, Environment Agency, and the Forestry Commission have all input into the development of the biodiversity net gain plan template form and accompanying guidance, which could be subject to change prior to BNG becoming mandatory in January 2024.
How the Biodiversity Gain Plan will work:
The plan template provides a standard format for developers to set out how their proposals for a development will meet Biodiversity Net Gain objectives, creating a clear post-permission document for the local authority to determine whether the objectives have been met to discharge the BNG condition within the S106 before development commences. Both the plan and the outcome of the determination will be published on the relevant local planning authority register.
The template has been designed for major development, with a separate template to be provided for phased schemes. Feedback has been sought from both developers and LPAs on its usability which has been reviewed and incorporated where possible with the guidance aiming to further help streamline the process of both completing and reviewing the biodiversity gain plan.
A number of associated documents must be appended to the plan including:
- Completed metric calculation tool
- Pre-development and post-development plans, showing the location of onsite habitat and drawn to an identified scale and showing the direction of North
- Approved compensation plan (if applicable)
- Register reference number(s) (if applicable)
- Statutory biodiversity credits eligibility evidence in the form of correspondence from habitat providers (if applicable)
- Statutory biodiversity credits proof of purchase (if applicable)
- Habitat management and monitoring plan (if applicable)
BNG Plan Guidance for Housebuilders:
As we draw nearer to BNG being brought into legislation there are some key points for housebuilders to be aware of when implementing the new requirements for future developments:
- It will be important to review the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for the relevant local authoritative body, which outlines local priorities for nature recovery. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has appointed 48 responsible authorities to lead on preparing a LNRS for their area. Together these cover the whole of England. This will include information on specific strategies and could include a requirement for more than a 10% gain.
- Knowing what does and doesn’t count towards BNG. For example, mitigation and/or compensation for protected species and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) can be used to get to 0% net loss, however you will need to provide additionality – 10% gain via additional creation or enhancement measures over and above.
- Irreplaceable habitats are not included within the calculation metric if they are to be affected. Very high distinctiveness habitats do have to be included. Both situations must be discussed separately with the local planning authority to negotiate bespoke compensation.
- The riparian zone for a water course includes 10m in each direction from the top of the bank. If the site boundary falls within 10m then the watercourse will have to be included within the baseline and 10% gain will have to be attributed specifically to this habitat type.
- If habitat has been deliberately degraded since 2020 the previous habitat must be recorded. There is a clause in the Environment Act whereby a precautionary approach will be taken and the habitat, as it is not assessable, will be noted at a higher distinctiveness than it probably was.
- You can outline temporary loss of habitat if it will be restored back to baseline condition within 2 years (temporary access or storage areas).
- No impact still requires a 10% gain
A final key point to remember, BNG follows the mitigation hierarchy, a widely used tool that guides users to limit the negative impacts on biodiversity from development. It emphasises best-practice of avoiding and minimising any negative impacts, and then restoring sites no longer used by a project, before finally considering offsetting residual impacts – Avoidance, minimisation, restoration, offset. Onsite solutions are the primary option, then offsite, and finally the purchase of statutory credits is a last resort. You will need to demonstrate that a solution is unachievable before moving to the next option. Statutory credits are currently marketed at a minimum of £42k per credit for a medium distinctiveness habitat for which a penalty is applied whereby you will need to purchase 2 credits for every unit.
If you require assistance in managing your open spaces to meet the requirements of BNG, please email enquiries@meadfleet.co.uk.
The BNG plan template and guidance documents can be found here.
About Meadfleet
Meadfleet are a leading sustainable land-adopting management company. We have in-house ecologists with expertise in the BNG metric and are already applying the principles of Biodiversity Net Gain across our existing open space portfolio in England and Wales. Established in 1995, Meadfleet manage over 330 developments and 42,000 residential properties in our portfolio, with a strong balance sheet.
Meadfleet offers management of Biodiversity Net Gain delivery both on a managed development and on offsite areas, either via customer contributions or commuted sums. Our adoption model relieves developers of ongoing liabilities and management costs.
The Meadfleet model removes onerous liabilities from homeowners yet still encourages their input and engagement into the management of their local environment. We are committed to providing an excellent service to residents as demonstrated by our Excellent rating on Trustpilot and are members of The Property Ombudsman Scheme (TPOS), offering customers free, independent redress should they feel it is required. We are happy to work with residents groups and positively encourage the creation of these on the developments we are involved with. We believe this opens an effective two-way dialogue between homeowners and ourselves.
As a land-adopting management company, Meadfleet take long-term responsibility of open space, building customer and community relations and implementing perpetual management and improvement plans. We take a holistic and independent approach to managing areas of open space for the benefit of all residents, biodiversity and the wider environment.