Biodiversity gain and nature recovery

NE6: Biodiversity gain and nature recovery 1. All development proposals should consider how to maximise biodiversity by conserving, enhancing or extending existing ecological resources or creating new areas or features, tailored to the priority habitats and protected species present within the site and surrounding area. Opportunities to create, expand, enhance or link ecological networks and deliver opportunities identified in the latest Local Nature Recovery Strategy should also be considered. 2. Where potential biodiversity interest is identified on a site or the development creates an opportunity to increase biodiversity, the Council will require an ecological survey and report to be submitted which demonstrates how biodiversity will be protected and enhanced. 3. All development not subject to an exemption for Biodiversity Net Gain requirement under national regulations should achieve the following percentage of biodiversity net gain: a) Ten percent if delivered on site. b) Ten percent if delivered off site within Buckinghamshire. c) Twenty percent if delivered off site outside of Buckinghamshire. 4. Calculations are required to use the most recent Statutory Metric 5. Habitat enhancements should be designed to provide significant contributions to nature’s recovery in line with the latest Local Nature Recovery Strategy. 6. Net gain should be achieved in line with the biodiversity gain hierarchy. Where Biodiversity Gain Sites are used, they should be located close to the development. In situations where this is not considered possible or appropriate, then alternative arrangements must be clearly set out and justified, the last resort is to purchase statutory biodiversity credits. 7. Where proposals involve the creation of significant habitat creation/ enhancement which are integral to development, they should be accompanied by a long-term management and monitoring plan which must be approved by the Local Planning Authority. 7.154 All development presents an opportunity to contribute to the conservation, enhancement and restoration of biodiversity. In line with national policy, proposals should apply the mitigation hierarchy by avoiding harm in the first instance, then mitigating and compensating for impacts, and delivering measurable net gains wherever possible. This approach supports the creation of resilient ecological networks, consistent with the Lawton principles of ‘bigger, better, more and more joined’. 7.155 Development proposals should seek to strengthen ecological connectivity within and beyond site boundaries. This may be achieved through measures such as the retention and enhancement of existing habitats, the creation of new habitat features, and the provision of connected green infrastructure including hedgerows, watercourses and stepping-stone habitats. These measures are particularly important in supporting mobile species and improving overall ecosystem resilience. 7.156 The policy applies to all developments, unless they are exempted under national regulations. 7.157 As stated in Buckinghamshire’s Strategic Vision to 2050 9, the Council encourages developments which trigger the mandatory requirement for BNG to achieve a 20% biodiversity net gain. 7.158 The policy seeks to achieve BNG delivery on site and off site within Buckinghamshire as a priority, a greater percentage off site is required outside of Buckinghamshire to reflect this. 7.159 The Council supports the objectives of the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Local Nature Partnership (known as the NEP), including their commitment to a doubling of nature: working towards a doubling of the land in Buckinghamshire is positively managed for wildlife and nature-base solutions. 7.160 As part of refining the local plan including site allocations, the Council has considered how the areas mapped and identified in the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Local Nature Recovery Strategy and the measures proposed in them should be reflected in the local plan. In doing so, we are considering what safeguarding would be appropriate to enable the proposed actions to be delivered, noting the potential to target stronger safeguarding in areas the local planning authority considers to be of greater importance. This will enable the Council to support the best opportunities to create or improve habitat to conserve and enhance biodiversity, including where this may enable development in some locations. 7.161 When taking decisions, the Council will have due regards to the objectives, priorities and measures of the latest adopted LNRS, which are material considerations. LNRSs provide a robust evidence base for opportunities for nature recovery, informing Local Plans and Neighbourhood Plans, and the proposed new Spatial Development Strategies. They are not intended to provide red line boundaries preventing or placing new restrictions on land use which may be changed either through development or in taking advantage of new opportunities identified through the strategy. This has been established by national guidance. Development Plans remain the primary tool used by local planning authorities to determine which land should be developed and how. 7.162 The Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes LNRS can be found on the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Natural Environment Partnership (the area’s Local Nature Partnership which produced the LNRS on behalf of the Council) website: https://bucksmknep.co.uk/naturestrategy/ 9 Bucks Strategic Vision 7.163 The Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Local Nature Recovery Strategy 9 themes are: a) Conserve, create, enhance and restore land-based habitats. b) Improve rivers, their floodplains and the quality of their waters. c) Conserve, create, enhance and maintain wetland habitats. d) More farmers and rural land managers to adopt wildlife-friendly land management practices and take action to improve soil health. e) Improve biodiversity in built-up areas. f) Create connections between high-quality areas for wildlife and habitats to flourish. g) Manage the effects of a changing climate and improve air quality. h) Tackle non-native invasive species, pests and diseases. i) Improve the environment for rare, specialist species. 7.164 The Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Biodiversity Action Plan10 to 2030 remains in place for the time being, as it forms part of the evidential basis for the LNRS. When developing this plan, the Council is therefore also taking into consideration the aims and principles for existing Biodiversity Opportunity Areas. 7.165 The Council will also have regards to other partners’ plans such as the Chilterns Conservation Board’s Nature Recovery Plan. 7.166 The management of natural areas and newly created sites to be an integral part of the development will require an endowment or some other means to support maintenance and longer-term future. This may include the creation of Biodiversity Net Gain units. The stewardship arrangement and the potential need for off-site BNG units should be discussed with the local planning authority at the earliest date since it may affect the design and nature of proposals for the natural environment and Biodiversity Net Gain requirements on the site. 7.167 In assessing Biodiversity Net Gain, the Council will consider proposals against the BNG hierarchy as set out in the BNG Framework. BNG should be assessed using the latest statutory metric. 7.168 Seeking advice from a suitably qualified ecologist on the ecological enhancements selected is encouraged. The chosen measure(s) will need to be clearly highlighted on landscape and elevation plans and/or within the design and access statement. In addition, all new tree and soft landscaping must incorporate an element of native planting, and where non-native planting is proposed this should comprise species beneficial to UK pollinators and/or chosen to be well-adapted to future changes in climate. Proposals incorporating invasive plant species will not be supported. 7.169 Significant habitat enhancement includes habitats of medium or higher distinctiveness, creates many biodiversity units relative to the baseline, is of a large area or enhances habitats to ‘good’ condition. 7.170 The Local Planning Authority will require a biodiversity monitoring contribution to review progress towards the creation of significant habitat enhancement over the management period where it is of a scale or technicality that the monitoring would be reasonable to ensure 10 Forward to 2030 – Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Natural Environment Partnership the proposed ecological outcomes are achieved. For example, a nature reserve or an area of priority habitat. 7.171 All maintenance and management requirements of the proposed enhancements must be specified within planning applications and secured via planning conditions. Management plans should be for a period of at least 30 years (where used for BNG) and often in perpetuity (where the habitats form an integral part of the development’s green infrastructure) or planning obligations, as appropriate. 7.172 As they set opportunities for habitats creation and enhancement at landscape-scale, Local Nature Recovery Strategies can inform the strategic delivery of offsite biodiversity gain in the right places, where offsite provision is needed to meet the biodiversity gain condition for a development and it cannot be met in full through onsite habitat enhancements. The Council will continue to work with landowners to develop a pipeline of Biodiversity Gain Sites which deliver the best outcomes for nature’s recovery within Buckinghamshire and ensure that a local supply of biodiversity gain units is available for developers. 7.173 Following the Local Nature Recovery Strategy, a “strategic significance” uplift can be applied post-intervention if: a) The intervention is in a location where a LNRS potential measure has been proposed and b) the intervention is consistent with the potential measure proposed in that location.