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Biodiversity Net Gain Legislation

Biodiversity net gain was introduced in the Environment Act 2021 to reverse the damaging effects of development on the natural world. Natural England announced that biodiversity net gain would become part of UK law, applying to major applications in November 2023 in England and minor developments in April 2024.

There are few biodiversity net gain exemptions: ignoring the policy requirement may result in fines or delays to a planning application made to a local planning authority. The legislation means that completed development sites must leave the environment in a measurably better state by improving their biodiversity value.

To obtain planning permission, biodiversity net gain means that a developer must provide evidence that a planning project will create a minimum 10% increase in the biodiversity value of a site on completion. Evidence of how the biodiversity gain improvements must be maintained for the long term, at least 30 years, is also required before planning consent will be granted by local authorities.

While most local planning authorities ask for a minimum 10% biodiversity net gain bng increase, Warwickshire County Council demands a 20% uplift, underlining the significance it attaches to the policy requirement and the importance of applicants having a sound bng plan.

While a two-year transition period allowed time for developers and local planning authorities to adjust to the new planning policy before it became mandatory in November 2023, biodiversity net gain Warwickshire was introduced immediately.

Biodiversity net gain Warwickshire

The Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull region was one of six national pilot areas to trial biodiversity net gain between 2012-2014: Warwickshire local authorities have demanded that all planning projects provide net gain since then as part of their sustainable development approach.

Warwickshire District Council Local Plan

The Local Plan’s vision is to reduce air pollution and flood threats due to climate change and protect the environment, especially areas of high landscape value while supporting growth and sustainable communities. It also aims to see communities designate land as local green space.

Sustainable development will be approved providing that it protects, enhances or restores habitat biodiversity and provides net gain, preferably on the development site; if this option proves unviable, net gain may be provided offsite. The local council’s biodiversity offsetting approach is set out in the Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull Green Infrastructure Strategy.

The majority of the natural landscape is in the Historic Arden or Dunsmore landscape character areas, along with areas of ancient woodland and numerous local wildlife sites. Warwickshire local authorities make maintaining the environment a priority, especially sensitive habitats, aiming to improve their quality and encourage habitat connectivity within the district and wider sub region. This West Midlands region includes amongst its natural assets, seven Sites of Special Scientific Interest, 72 local wildlife sites, and 31 conservation areas, while important geological sites are identified in the Warwickshire Geodiversity Action Plan.

Warwickshire has a history of flooding from watercourses and rivers in the district, such as the Avon, Leam, Sowe, and Itchen: to counter this, the Local Plan states that planning projects must work with the natural environment. Canalside regeneration and enhancement are highlighted in the Warwickshire County Council Plan and areas are identified for protection when planning decisions are made.

Warwickshire County Council’s bng guidance

Alongside a biodiversity net gain plan, Warwickshire County Council requires submission of a statutory biodiversity metric showing a site’s pre-development biodiversity value, details of any activity carried out before submission of the planning application that led to biodiversity loss or biodiversity gain, and a description of any irreplaceable habitat on site.

Planning applications must demonstrate that the bng mitigation hierarchy has been complied with, and any offsite gains must be secured by a conservation covenant.

Where there is a watercourse with 10m of a site boundary or within 5m of a wet ditch, a river condition assessment must be carried out by an ecologist. A 10% biodiversity gain is required for watercourses with the site boundary.

Biodiversity net gain assessment

The process begins with an ecological consultant making a site visit to inspect all ecological features, which might include European-protected species and areas such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The Defra universal biodiversity metric 4.0 will be used to assess all current features in a measurable way and allocate a biodiversity value to each.

After studying the development plans, the consultant will predict the site’s biodiversity value post-development. When the two measurements are taken, the two values will be compared using the measurement tool to calculate the extent of improvements needed to meet the required minimum increase in biodiversity value.

A mitigation hierarchy will be used to identify the optimal route to take. Further information may be required via specialist surveys, such as protected species or habitat surveys. The completed biodiversity net gain plan will prove that all ecological features on the development site have been assessed and provide details of how the planning project will deliver bng. The level of detail included in biodiversity net gain plans should enable local authorities to grant planning permission.

Delivering net gain

Delivering the required amount of net gain on-site is the preferred option; this can mean simple measures such as installing bird or bat boxes, or more complex measures including new habitat creation. All initiatives in the bng assessment must ensure that conservation activities compensate for biodiversity loss.

On sites where it proves impossible to add net gain, the required units may be delivered via a biodiversity offsetting scheme, or as a last resort, a developer could make a financial contribution by purchasing statutory biodiversity credits in the offsite market.

Need a biodiversity net gain plan in Warwickshire?

It’s important to obtain professional advice: the first step is to engage an ecological consultancy with a good reputation. It should be experienced in producing biodiversity net gain plans for Warwickshire County Council or the relevant local planning authority, and employ fully qualified ecological consultants.

Their biodiversity net gain recommendations on compensating for biodiversity loss with biodiversity gain, or setting up a biodiversity offsetting scheme, will give you the best chance to obtain planning permission for your development site.