Biodiversity Net Gain - Everyone is a winner
The 2021 Environment Act introduced a requirement for all developers to demonstrate how they plan to achieve a minimum ten per cent increase in biodiversity with all new developments in order to obtain planning permission. It’s the law, whether you like it or not, you have to do it or you won’t get planning permission.
And yes, this is on ALL planning applications. On 17January, the government announced that it would kick on all major developments on 12 February 2024 and this week, the requirement came into force for small sites - meaning those providing between one and nine dwellings now also have to comply with the legislation.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) published a press release that said, BNG for both on-site and off-site gains would be secured via a legal agreement between the applicant and a“responsible body or local authority to monitor the habitat improvements over [a] 30-year period”.
So, the £million question is, is this yet another stealth tax that is pointless and going to cripple developers (and yes, it applies to everything, not just house building!).
In short, NO! I think we all can agree in principle that a 10% uplift in biodiversity on a site is not a bad thing. We need to live and work in a sustainable and holistic way with nature.
And I can hear you say, “Lamprecht, you are not the one paying for the net gain” and of course, you are completely right, I am not the one paying the bills but I do have something to offer…
Like S106 and CiL and the whole other plethora of things you need to cough up for, this will cost you money and whether you like it or not, you can’t get away from it. So, my advice is simple: MAKE THE MOST OF IT! Make every last penny work for you to get the planning permission.
At this point, I will introduce my friends Harry the Hedgehog and Amy. Amy’s parents are looking for a new home and her friend Harry the Hedgehog is also looking for a new home. Harry can’t live in the field of Farmer Brown anymore because the hedges have been flailed and cut down and pesticides kill all the little fat bugs Harry eats… Poor little Harry. The good news is that Harry’s friend, a little girl called Amy is moving into a house with a garden with her parents! And there will be hedges and a garden with lots of fat juicy bugs and Harry can come and live with her! Hooray!
But how do we tap into this? How do we make the most of this opportunity? How do we turn Harry and Amy into actual support?
I will tell you a secret… Involving children in a sincere and meaningful way on BNG is not only the right thing to do by investing in our future, it is also a great way to help Mummy and Daddy and Granny and Grandpa to understand that development is a good thing.
But enough of this, call me if you want to know more!
Until next week,
Henry