Biodiversity Net Gain - Environment Act 2021 Planning Obligation in England

Introduction

The Environment Act 2021 introduced obligations on developers to secure 10% biodiversity net gain on development sites. This was expected to affect planning permissions from November 2023, now deferred until early 2024. A baseline assessment will be based on the Defra Biodiversity Metric, now in version 4.0.

Planning applications will need to include a Biodiversity Plan showing the number of biodiversity units on site before development, and the number of biodiversity units which will be achieved after development. The number of biodiversity units after development will have to be at least 10% higher. These environmental improvements will have to be secured for at least 30 years.

Part 7 of the Act introduces Conservation Covenants, a new form of legal agreement binding future landowners and occupiers. These will be one of the legal tools to secure biodiversity gains for the minimum 30-year period. Planning conditions and obligations will also seek to secure the gains.

This live broadcast session will review these issues for lawyers, surveyors, planners and developers, aiming to provide a practical insight into the working of the new measures.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive session will cover the following:

• Environment Act overview
• Environment Act provisions on biodiversity gain
• Emerging regulations
• Biodiversity register
• Purchase of biodiversity credits - an expensive alternative
• Sourcing suitable offsite offsets
• Conservation covenants
• Defra biodiversity metric and its application

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.