Agenda item

To receive an update on Biodiversity Net Gain.

The Development Management Service Delivery Manager and Director: Prosperity & Investment provided a summary of the report to the Committee.

Members were informed that updated guidance on Biodiversity Net Gain had been provided by Central Government and Members would receive a further update at the meeting at the February 2024 meeting.

Members were informed that the changes in legislation would need to be reflected in the planning permission process in terms of both applications and decisions made by the Council’s Planning Committee. There would also be a minimum requirement of 10% biodiversity net gain on applications and public bodies such as the local authority would have enforcement powers in response to this. Members were informed that these would be enforced by the Office for Environmental Protection and that there would be additional support from Government to cover any burdens.

Members were provided with an update on the work on the Local Nature Recovery Strategy as part of Biodiversity Net Gain. This work was in partnership with other organisations and local authorities with Shropshire Council acting as the lead authority. The strategy was said to promote the protection and the improvement of local habitats. There were no powers of enforcement on the applicant to comply with this, but there were positive nature solutions that would be fed back into the local plan.

Members were informed that the strategy aimed to leave the environment in a measurably better state than prior to development and that the Council would be the lead on the urban aspects of the strategy. From January 2024, it was heard that Biodiversity Net Gain would be applicable across major sites and from April 2024 it would be applicable across smaller sites. A further update would be provided to Members in the February 2024 meeting to discuss further guidance and implementation of the policy from Central Government.

This would result in further impact on planning permission and the use of S106 monies on future developments. The policy was currently being tested against the local plan with projects like the Grassland pilot to develop guidance and means of identifying compensation and mitigation methods with future developments. The policy required sites to be monitored and maintained for a minimum of 30 years as a duty of all public bodies. Members were informed that the policies and sites would need to be reviewed every 5 years.

Following the presentation, Members posed the following questions and statements.

If an application had been approved, could the policy be applied to those that are not meeting the 10% biodiversity net gains once the policy comes into effect?

Unfortunately, once the application had been approved the legislation could not be enforced due to it being after the application of the policy. However, locally, applications reviewed before the legislation had a net neutral agreement as part of the local plan. Ongoing planning applications and developments had conditions on delivery as part of the s106 agreement.

Could applications be rejected if they did not meet the Net Gain?

Applications could be rejected and for approved applications there were enforcement rules in place if applications did not meet the net gain requirements and the obligations within the s106 agreement.

How would you monitor the progress towards Biodiversity Net Gain?

This would be part of the planning condition within the s106 agreement and data/metrics would be available from the Government for monitoring the Net Gain.

Would the introduction of the legislation have further impacts and will these impacts affect any of the work already done by the Council?

Even though there would be legislative targets with the introduction of Biodiversity, the Council had set their own targets over the last few years to meet Net Zero and how it could be incorporated with the new legislation.

Had there been challenges already identified?

The guidance from the Government would help to determine challenges that might be faced.

Would the introduction of the legislation impact the Local Plan and would it be a live document?

The Local Plan highlighted a minimum of 10% net gain required by law and that there would be measures put in place to reach this as well as making it financially viable.

Were there areas of land owned by the Council that could be used for offsetting?

There were 130 hectares that were identified and surveyed that were under Council ownership that could be used.

The Cabinet Member: Climate Action, Green Spaces, Heritage & Leisure and Members of the Committee thanked officers for their work and for providing an update on the legislative changes.

Following questions from Members, the recommendations as outlined in the report were voted on and it was:

RESOLVED – that:

a)The proactive approach to delivering the new mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain, and the challenges to date whilst awaiting national guidance be noted by the committee; and

b)The approach taken into the introduction and delivery of Biodiversity matters contained with the Environment Act be noted, and a further detailed consideration of Biodiversity Net Gain implementation and delivery for February 2024 be recommended by the committee.