Biodiversity net gain is an exciting new tool that can be used to help us meet our environmental objectives in the coming years. Landowners across England and Wales can apply to set up ‘Habitat Banks’ which are strategically positioned to deliver biodiversity gains where developers are not able to meet their BNG requirements onsite. These gains need to be secured through a legal agreement, either in the form of a Conservation Covenant with a designated Responsible Body or through an S106 agreement with the local planning authority (LPA). TOE is delighted to have been involved in one of the first projects in the country with a BNG S106 agreement at Lopemede, an exciting floodplain restoration project along the river Thame in Buckinghamshire.
If you would like to read more about the views of some of the local planning authorities that have entered these agreements with landowners, you can find the recently published Government blog here: Securing off-site biodiversity net gain: insights from local planning authorities – Environment (blog.gov.uk)
