Biodiversity Net Gain in England - Policy & Planning Obligations

Introduction

The Environment Act 2021 introduced obligations on developers to secure 10% biodiversity net gain on development sites, and this applies to the majority of developments in England.

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 that 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, either by legal agreement or planning conditions and obligations.

This virtual classroom seminar will review these issues for lawyers, surveyors, planners and developers, aiming to provide a practical insight into the working of the BNG regulations.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive course will cover the following:

• Understand the Environment Act and the concept of biodiversity gain
• Explain the Mitigation Hierarchy?
• Explore habitat banks - are all sites equally valuable?
• Learn how the DEFRA biodiversity metric works
• Understand the Biodiversity Gain Sites register and its purpose
• Identify statutory biodiversity credits and how they are used
• Compare conservation covenants or Section 106 Agreement
• Define the role and responsibilities of a Responsible Body
• Understand Habitat Leases and determine when you need one
• Explore the concept of Stacking and Double-Counting in biodiversity credits

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.