Need an ecology survey in Wirral?

Wirral Council and BNG

Wirral features many important environmental areas and when biodiversity net gain was introduced in The Environment Act 2021, Wirral Council was among the first councils to adopt the policy immediately, rather than waiting for its two-year transition period to elapse.

Responding to the environment and climate emergency, biodiversity net gain aims to reverse the detrimental effects of development on nature in the UK: it is designed to allow development to continue while requiring schemes to provide a 10% minimum increase in biodiversity.

Applications for planning permission must meet the new criteria to obtain consent. Wirral’s unique peninsula landform includes Sites of Special Scientific Interest, lowland heaths and sites of national, European and international significance creating habitats for a wide variety of resulting biodiversity. As such, it has a specific infrastructure vision to protect its varied and good biodiversity while enabling sustainable development.

The Wirral Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy is one of several policies relating to enhancing biodiversity and it details how bng must be considered in all new developments. The Strategy aims to promote more connected habitats, especially around the Wirral coast, and alleviate recreational pressure in areas such as the international designations at Thurstaston and Heswall Dales, which put the natural environment at risk. The Strategy also aims to support climate change mitigation by increasing the borough’s carbon sink and improving aquatic habitats. Other aims are to provide natural flood defences, increase tree canopy cover, and promote habitat connectivity to help all living things travel through green corridors.

As well as following bng law, decisions made by Wirral Council regarding planning permission will be informed by guidance in the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and from Natural England and the Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

Wirral Local Plan

Biodiversity net gain bng features heavily in the Wirral Local Plan which highlights the need to retain, protect and enhance biodiversity to help shape a resilient borough. The council recognises the importance of improving ecologically important environmental sites and resources. The Local Plan aims to ensure that proposed development does not harm Wirral’s biodiversity or ecosystems and that schemes deliver the appropriate amount of net gain locally to benefit the natural environment.

Biodiversity net gain

Biodiversity net gain aims to reduce the potentially catastrophic decline in the state of the UK’s wildlife, often resulting from development. Biodiversity net gain aligns with Environment Agency ambitions for the UK to reduce biodiversity losses and improve the condition of the natural environment.

The Environment Bill introduced the biodiversity net gain concept, and when this became the Environment Act 2021 after receiving royal assent, bng was introduced into the National Planning Policy Framework. A legal duty is now placed on developers to demonstrate that schemes will deliver a minimum 10% environmental improvements on completion and that the improvements will be maintained for the long term – at least 30 years. The figures are calculated using the latest version of the Defra metric, currently 4.0, which gives a measured biodiversity reading and will form part of the bng plan.

Following a two-year transition period to allow the industry to become familiar with the new legislation, Natural England announced that mandatory biodiversity net gain would apply from November 2023 in England for major sites and small sites of nine units or less, and from April 2024 it applied to smaller sites and commercial developments under 1,000 square metres. There are few exceptions to biodiversity net gain legislation as it applies to most planning applications: failing to observe bng policy may result in penalties and delays to applications for planning permission.

Bng assessment

An ecological consultant will visit a development site to make a physical inspection and calculate its current biodiversity value after recording all relevant features such as European-protected species of wildlife and habitat. Each ecological feature within the site’s red line boundary will be allocated a biodiversity value. The survey findings will be logged into the latest version of the Defra universal biodiversity metric to produce a pre-development bng reading.

An assessment of the environmental improvements in the development plans will then be made to counter biodiversity losses, allowing the consultant to calculate the site’s biodiversity value after development. Entering the two values into the biodiversity metric will reveal the level of improvement needed to make the figures correspond before a minimum 10% increase in on-site biodiversity is added. In some cases, further surveys will be required such as specialist surveys for protected species and the consultant can give further information if this is the case.

Biodiversity net gain mitigation hierarchy

The recommended measures for adding net gain will be worked out according to a biodiversity net gain mitigation hierarchy. The steps may involve creating new habitats on site, adding bird and bat boxes or changing land management practices to meet bng policy.

The resulting bng plan will contain all the survey findings along with the recommended changes to ensure that bng policy requirements are met. It will include an interactive map and an ideas board for creating net gain. Local planning authorities will rely on the information in bng plans as a basis for determining applications for planning permission.

How to comply with the biodiversity net gain requirement

Delivering the required amount of net gain on-site is the preferred national policy option: if it proves impossible to deliver mitigation hierarchy gains on-site, it may be possible to deliver net gain off-site, especially as part of a local nature recovery strategy such as a habitat bank. Purchasing biodiversity units for sale may be a last resort option.

Do you need a biodiversity net gain plan in Wirral?

Wirral Council requires a biodiversity net gain plan as a supplementary planning document to accompany an application for planning permission. To identify a suitable ecological consultancy, it’s important to check that it employs fully qualified consultants with experience in completing bng surveys to ensure that you receive the best advice about your proposed development.

The bng assessment will identify the best ways of improving biodiversity on site to ensure it is left in a better state, and outline how planning permission can be achieved.