Issue - meetings

Report of the Director - Neighbourhoods

The Senior Ecology and Sustainability Officer delivered a presentation to the Group which provided information on the Environment Act 2021 and the new Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements for planning under the Act and what this will mean for the Council.

The Group were given a brief explanation of what Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is as follows:

‘BNG is an approach to development, and/or land management, that aims to leave the natural environment in a measurably better state than it was beforehand’

The Senior Ecology and Sustainability Officer advised the Group that the BNG aspects of the Environment Act 2021 does not come into force until the Secretary of State authorises it, this is expected to be from November 2023 and would mandate Biodiversity Net Gain into the planning process. The Group were advised that the Minimum mandatory gain will be set at 10%, however local authorities would be able to vary this upwards if desired. The mechanism for delivery is within on-site or off-site habitat secured for at least 30 years and as a last resort there will be statutory credits where units for delivery are not available for which revenue generated would only be used at the discretion of the Secretary of State and Natural England.

The Group were asked to note the developments baseline and post intervention biodiversity unit values which are calculated using a standardised Biodiversity Metric, (an extract of the spreadsheet was provided for information), a register for off-site net gain sites will also be mandated. It was also noted that BNG does not change the existing ecological legal protections.

The Senior Ecology and Sustainability Officer outlined the Council’s proposal for sites that the Council regards as strategically significant and formally identified in local strategies, these are development sites which are within or immediately adjacent to:

·       Designated Priority Sites for example, designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) or a Local wildlife Site (LWS).

·       Listed Green and Blue Infrastructure sites as identified in the Greater Nottingham Blue and Green Infrastructure Strategy (January 2022)

·       Focal areas identified within the Rushcliffe Biodiversity Opportunity Mapping report

·       Sites managed with nature conservation as a major priority as identified in the Rushcliffe Nature Conservation Strategy

The Group were asked to note that it is proposed that all Biodiversity Net Gain provided within Rushcliffe but outside areas listed above will be regarded as ‘Location Ecologically desirable but not within a local strategy’. Biodiversity Net Gain outside of Rushcliffe will be regarded as ‘Area/compensation not in local strategy’.

The Senior Ecology and Sustainability Officer explained the BNG procedure at Rushcliffe expressing the first part would be completed at the approval stage for a planning application prior to determination of the planning permission. The Ecologist Officer would check the BNG Metric and BNG initial plan, for all major developments and provide comments and recommendations to planning which would then be discharged by way of planning conditions. At post development ongoing site monitoring would continue.  Smaller  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5