Dudley Council

Part One: Spatial Strategy and Policies (Regulation 19)

Ends on 29 November 2024 (8 days remaining)

Nature Recovery Network and Biodiversity Net Gain

11.14. The Nature Recovery Network (NRN) is a major commitment in the government's 25 Year Environment Plan. The government has set out in the Environment Act (2021) that a Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) will be prepared locally and published for all areas of England, and that these will:

  1. agree priorities for nature's recovery;
  2. map the most valuable existing habitat for nature using the best available data; and
  3. map specific proposals for creating or improving habitat for nature and wider environmental goals.

11.15. The LNRS will help restore many ecosystem functions and improve the services upon which society depends, benefitting nature, people and the economy, and helping to address three of the biggest challenges society faces: biodiversity loss, climate change and human wellbeing.             

11.16. LNRSs will support delivery of mandatory biodiversity net gain and provide a focus for a strengthened duty on all public authorities to conserve and enhance biodiversity, which were also introduced by the Environment Act (2021). They will underpin the Nature Recovery Network, alongside work to develop partnerships and to integrate nature into incentives and land management actions.             

11.17. Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is a process that attempts to leave the environment in a more valuable and richer condition than it was found to be in previously. The Government has set out in the Environment Act (2021) that development proposals are required to provide a minimum 10% uplift in habitat quality where sites are being developed.

11.18. This process involves the use of a metric as a proxy for recognising the negative impacts on habitats arising from a development and calculating how much new or restored habitat, and of what types, is required to deliver sufficient net gain.

11.19. Policy DLP32 sets out how development proposals will be required to consider the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and how BNG will be secured.

Policy DLP32 Nature Recovery Network and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) Comment

  1. All development shall deliver the Local Nature Recovery Strategy in line with the following principles:
    1. take account of where in the Local Nature Recovery Network the development is located and deliver benefits appropriate to that zone;
    2. follow the mitigation hierarchy of avoidance, mitigation and compensation, and provide for the protection, enhancement, restoration and creation of wildlife habitat and green infrastructure;
    3. follow the principles of Making Space for Nature and recognise that spaces are needed for nature and that these should be of sufficient size and quality and must be appropriately connected to other areas of green infrastructure, to address the objectives of the Black Country Local Nature Recovery map and strategy [10].
  2. All development shall deliver a minimum 10% net gain in biodiversity value when measured against baseline site information.
  3. Losses and gains as a result of proposed development will be calculated using the most current national Biodiversity Metric.
  4. Development that is likely to have a negative impact on biodiversity will be considered in accordance with the mitigation hierarchy set out in the NPPF.
  5. BNG shall be provided in line with the following principles:
    1. delivery of BNG using on-site habitat provision / enhancement wherever practicable is expected, followed by improvements to sites within the local area, and then other sites elsewhere within Dudley;
    2. the maintenance and where possible enhancement of the ability of plants and animals (including pollinating insects) to move, migrate and genetically disperse across Dudley and the Black Country;
    3. the provision / enhancement of priority habitats identified at the national, regional, or local level, having regard to the scarcity of that habitat within Dudley and the Black Country;
  6. Exemptions to the need to provide BNG on all development will be as set out in the relevant legislation and national guidance.
  7. BNG is not applied to irreplaceable habitats, such as ancient woodlands. Any mitigation and / or compensation requirements for sites identified and protected under European law or successor legislation should be dealt with as appropriate separately to BNG provision.
  8. Off-site compensation will be accepted as a fall-back only if compensating for losses is not possible within the development site boundary; where off-site measures are needed to meet BNG requirements, it is expected that the off-site habitat enhancement or creation will be local (within the borough boundary) to the development site where possible.
  9. Provision of on-or off-site compensation should not replace or adversely impact on existing alternative / valuable habitats in those locations and should be provided prior to development.
  10. BNG plans will need to be agreed prior to commencement[11], subject to appropriate legal agreements and conservation covenants.
  11. Sites and areas identified to provide for BNG requirements should be managed and monitored for at least 30 years post-provision, via obligations or conservation covenants.
  12. Monitoring plans will be required as part of the grant of planning permission and should include indicators[12] to demonstrate the amount and type of BNG provided through development, which should be as specific as possible to help build an evidence base for future reviews of the plan.
Justification

11.20. Locally developed Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) are required by the Environment Act (2021). LNRS will help to map the Nature Recovery Network locally and nationally, and will help to plan, prioritise and target action and investment in nature at a regional level across England.

11.21. The Environment Act (2021) introduces a new duty on all public bodies to have regard to any relevant LNRS, creating an incentive for a wide range of organisations to engage with the creation of an LNRS and to take steps to support its delivery. Local authorities and other public bodies designated by the Secretary of State will also have to report on what steps they have taken, at least every five years.

11.22. Dudley alongside the other Black Country Authorities commissioned a 'Black Country Local Nature Recovery map and strategy: an emerging approach'. This has produced opportunities mapping that future development proposals will be required to consider in demonstrating how they deliver benefits appropriate to the zones identified. The Nature Recovery Network Opportunities Map is shown in the emerging approach, alongside a description of the components of the opportunities map.

11.23. The Black Country Local Nature Recovery map and strategy will eventually be superseded by the West Midlands LNRS that is being produced. In the meantime, the Black Country Local Nature Recovery map and strategy will carry weight as evidence supporting DLP32, until such time as the West Midlands LNRS is adopted.              

11.24. The Environment Act underpins the government's approach to establishing the NRN. The Environment Act sets the framework for at least one legally binding biodiversity target, establishes spatial mapping and planning tools to identify existing and potential habitat for wildlife and agrees local priorities for enhancing biodiversity in every area of England (LNRS); creates duties and incentives, including mandatory biodiversity net gain.             

11.25. BNG has been described as a measurable target for development projects where impacts on biodiversity are outweighed by a clear mitigation hierarchy approach to first avoid and then minimise impacts, including through restoration and / or compensation.              

11.26. A locally specific BNG policy helps Dudley to identify opportunities for the delivery of BNG delivery and determine the 'strategic significance' score that is part of the Biodiversity Metric. In this way, BNG can help meet local objectives in addition to contributing to wider nature recovery plans; this will ensure that the right habitats are provided in the right places. Including BNG in the Local Plan can also link biodiversity to other strategic objectives and the overall place-making strategy for an area, enabling a more holistic approach to the environment.             

11.27. Net gain is an approach to development, and / or land management, which aims to leave the natural environment in a measurably better state than beforehand.

11.28. Mandatory BNG provides a financial incentive for development to support the delivery of LNRSs through an uplift in the calculation of biodiversity units created at sites identified by the strategy. LNRSs have also been designed to help local planning authorities deliver existing policy on conserving and enhancing biodiversity and to reflect this in the land use plans for their area.             

11.29. The Environment Act (2021) proposes that new developments must demonstrate a minimum 10% increase in biodiversity on or near development sites. New development should always seek to enhance rather than reduce levels of biodiversity present on a site. This will require a baseline assessment of what is currently present, and an estimation of how proposed designs will add to that level of biodiversity, supported by evidence that a minimum 10% net gain has been delivered.

11.30. Development generates opportunities to help achieve an overall nature conservation benefit. It will often be possible to secure significant improvements through relatively simple measures, such as the incorporation of green and blue infrastructure and features including bird / bat boxes and bricks that can enable wildlife to disperse throughout the borough.

11.31. Biodiversity features of value frequently occur beyond designated sites and should be conserved, enhanced and additional features created as part of development.

11.32. On-site biodiversity improvements will also be vital to enhancing the liveability of urban areas, and improving the connection of people to nature, particularly as development densities increase. Development should also contribute to wildlife and habitat connectivity in the wider area, in line with the Birmingham and Black Country Biodiversity Action Plan and the Black Country Local Nature Recovery Network Strategy.

11.33. The ways in which developments secure a net gain in biodiversity value will vary depending on the scale and nature of the site. On some sites, the focus will be on the retention of existing habitats. For others, this may be impracticable, and it may be necessary instead to make significant provision for new habitats either on- or off-site.

11.34. It can be challenging to establish new habitats. It is essential that the most important and irreplaceable habitats are protected, and so mitigation rather than retention will not be appropriate in some circumstances.

11.35. Over the lifetime of the Local Plan the council intends to develop numerous sites across the borough as habitat banks to allow for the provision of locally sourced biodiversity units. Once developed a list detailing the units available and location of these sites will be published.

Evidence
  • The Environment Act 2021
  • The Government's 25 Year Environment Plan
  • Nature Networks Evidence Handbook - Natural England Research Report NERR081
  • Making Space for Nature (Lawton et al. 2010)
  • DEFRA Statutory Biodiversity Metric
  • Biodiversity Net Gain – Principles and Guidance for UK Construction and Developments – CIEEM
  • The Black Country Local Nature Recovery Network Strategy
  • The Severn River Basin Management Plan
Delivery
  • Development Management, legal and funding mechanisms.
  • BNG plans accompanying development proposals.

[10] Until such time as the West Midlands Local Nature Recovery Strategy is adopted

[11] This can be after the grant of planning permission but must be before work starts on site

[12] Examples of indicators include (but may not be restricted to) the total number and type of biodiversity units created, the number of developments achieving biodiversity net gains and a record of on-site and off-site contributions.

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