Estate pilot project helping shape biodiversity net gain policy

One of the most significant changes to the country’s planning system in decades has now passed into law with Royal Assent being granted to what is now the Environment Act 2021.

To summarise the purpose of the new Act, it is to provide targets, plans and policies for improving the natural environment.

Among the most important targets in the Act is that all new developments produce a biodiversity net gain of at least 10%, as we discussed in August.

According to the House of Commons Library briefing paper: “Part 6 of the Bill (now the Act) provides for the creation of a new biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirement, in England, of 10% for developers though the planning system.

“Gains will be mandatory and maintained for at least 30 years. They will be measured using a biodiversity metric that has been developed by Defra.”

Where possible, this 10% uplift should take place on the site of new development, but where this is not possible, for example in very constrained urban areas, it can be offset on other land in the area. This will lead to opportunities for farmers and landowners to improve habitats, or create new ones, on behalf of developers unable to do so on site.

This system is likely to take the form of a biodiversity credit scheme, where developers buy credits which are then used to improve biodiversity elsewhere.

Of course, in order to measure a 10% net gain, or improvement, you have to first have set a baseline number or metric.

To ensure that habitats created or enhanced to achieve BNG are quantified, managed, maintained, and monitored for the long-term, Natural England launched a biodiversity net gain pilot incorporating a handful of projects across the country.

Escrick Park Estate took part in Phase 1 of the pilot, which looked at several key aspects including trailing the new standard metric for measuring net gain, Biodiversity Metric 2.0, which has subsequently been updated to Metric 3.0.

The Estate is now taking part in Phase 2 of the pilot, which is seeking to test approaches to developing off-site projects including the use of Metric 3.0 and the development of habitat management plans. Importantly, it will also help inform the biodiversity credit scheme.

In the longer term, the Estate hopes that BNG could be a tool to feed into its long-term ambitions to buffer Skipwith Common National Nature Reserve with sensitive habitat types, to create strategic wildlife corridors which feed into the wider landscape, and to create biodiverse habitats on the most marginal farming land.

Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England, said of the Environment Act: “It is imperative that we step up action to boost nature recovery if we are to tackle the twin challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change.

“This landmark Act will give us more of the tools and the momentum we need to really put nature on the road to recovery during this decade, enabling us to have more, better, bigger and connected areas of natural habitats, bringing a range of practical benefits and permitting more people to enjoy the wonders of the natural world, while improving wider environmental quality at the same time.

“We will work across Government, industry and society to help make it happen. The creation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies will be key in helping us to build a Nature Recovery Network across the country, backed by other measures in the new Act, including mandatory biodiversity net gain for built development and a healthier freshwater environment.”