Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) marks a fundamental shift in the planning process. From 12 February 2024, planning applications for most major developments in England made under the Town & Country Planning Act are required to deliver at least 10% BNG. Requirements for minor developments come into force from 2 April.
Many local authorities also have their own BNG policies and targets, with some requiring gains in excess of 10%.
Biodiversity Net Gain must be evidenced by the statutory biodiversity metric and must be legally secured for a minimum of 30 years.
To meet this challenging target, it is important to consider BNG as early as possible in the design process.
Our ecologists and landscape architects will work with you to maximise the biodiversity value of your site. We will help you strike the right balance between on-site habitats and off-site mitigation to suit your project.
We have over 40 years’ experience in delivering integrated landscape and ecology design solutions, and will help you achieve Biodiversity Net Gain.
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The BNG process requires reliable habitat survey data to assess the baseline biodiversity value of your site.
As a registered practice with the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), we adhere to the most up-to-date professional standards to provide you with a trustworthy service.
We use our extensive experience of environmental design to deliver pragmatic solutions to meet the challenges of BNG within the parameters of your brief.
Supporting and complementing our BNG service, we can help you with:
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Using our extensive skills and experience, we anticipate the issues that may arise and work with you and your team to proactively resolve these.
We can support you at all stages of the Biodiversity Net Gain process:
We are experienced in carrying out the first stage of a site assessment. This is known as a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA). The survey involves a desk-based study and a site visit to undertake an Extended Phase I Habitat Survey. A PEA will identify the potential ecological constraints and opportunities on a site. We can then advise you of any ecological implications for your proposal and recommend appropriate mitigation.
We can tailor the output of the PEA to your needs. PEA are generally not considered appropriate for a planning submission. They are, however, often used to inform the initial masterplanning discussions with the design team. In addition, they can be undertaken as a pre-acquisition survey or to collate the relevant data for a BREEAM assessment.
A PEA is often supplemented with further surveys, such as those for protected species. These will inform an Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA), either as a standalone report or as a chapter of an ES.
Contact usWe are experienced in preparing chapters on Ecology and Biodiversity as part of an Environmental Statement. We work in accordance with CIEEM guidelines and the IEMA EIA Quality Mark standard.
Contact usWe have extensive experience of working on developments with the potential to affect internationally designated sites collectively known as Natura 2000 sites. The National Planning Policy Framework also refers to these as ‘habitats sites’. The sites include Special Protection Areas (SPA), Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Ramsar sites.
We can provide you with early advice and produce HRA screening and Appropriate Assessment reports. These will ensure that the competent authority, often the Local Planning Authority, has sufficient information to inform their decision.
We have experience with working on proposals that relate to recreational pressure, noise and visual disturbance, habitat loss and air quality effects on the qualifying features of habitats sites.
HRA and EcIA are both required when a plan or project has a likely significant effect on habitats sites.
Find out moreWe can work with you to identify existing and potential green and blue infrastructure assets which have the capacity to enhance the character, amenity and biodiversity value of your site as well as delivering essential cost-effective infrastructure. We can provide strategies to either enhance existing, or establish new, green infrastructure and nature recovery networks as part of high-quality proposals that deliver added value to projects.
Find out moreOur talented and award-winning team of landscape designers understand how to unlock the potential for any site. We will generate a brief with you that will ensure the project design meets the needs of the project and will create enriching environments which people will really appreciate.
We relish finding solutions to challenging situations and build on our experience with each new commission. Our understanding and appreciation of external context factors and the broader remit of our professional basis enables us to really add value to your project team. Working collaboratively with other disciplines and co-consultants, our wide range of sector exposure enables best practice from across a range of settings to benefit your project.
Find out moreWe can work with you and provide input to Construction Environmental Management Plans, Landscape and Ecological Management Plans and other such plans that may be required for your project.
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If you need assistance with any aspect of Biodiversity Net Gain, please call us on 01225 876990 or complete the contact form.
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