Issue details

One of primary goals of the Environment Act 2021 is to protect and expand UK habitats and halt or reverse species decline by 2030. One of the policies was Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG); it is the mandatory requirement for developments needing planning permission to demonstrate a 10% biodiversity net gain at the time of submission. This can include creation of new habitats or enhancement of existing habitats on development sites. Defra has confirmed that all major development will need to secure 10% BNG from November 2023, with small scale developments being brought into the scheme from April 2024.

All habitats created or retained that form part of the 10% (whether onsite or off site) must be secured for a period not less than 30 years to include monitoring and management. It is expected that section 106 agreements will be used to secure the long-term management obligations. Enforcement of the section 106 will be the responsibility of the Local Planning Authority. Every five years each Local Planning Authority will be required to report the losses and gains of biodiversity through the planning process.

Resource constraints are a big concern for local planning authorities, there is a need to prepare policy guidance, development management systems, additional ecological staff resource to review and comments on the BNG submissions, input from legal services to draw up section 106 agreements, investment in data systems to provide baseline habitat maps, systems for monitoring and reporting to Defra and resources in planning and enforcement. Additionally, there will be a need for training for all staff involved in the process and for planning committee members.

In March 2022, Defra provided £10,047 of grant funding in the form of a Section 31 grant to each Local Planning Authority (LPA) (County and District) to prepare for BNG. In March 2023, Defra offered additional revenue funding of £26,807 per North Yorkshire LPA (except Harrogate BC who received £43,467) to support ongoing preparatory work for BNG to cover the period 22-23. This funding was secured by each of the former eight North Yorkshire authorities and totalled £231,116. To date Defra funding has been pooled and used to appoint a BNG Officer who is focusing on preparing the authority for the mandatory roll out, including training. In addition, the 22-23 funding is being used to recruit an Ecologist and Assistant Ecologist who will be in place by November 2023 to assist existing staff with the determination of planning applications in relation to BNG.

On 4th August 2023, Defra offered additional revenue funding of £231,116 to North Yorkshire Council (using the same funding formula as the previous year considering each of the eight former authorities). This funding will be paid as a Section 31 grant and is intended to cover work undertaken during the period 1st April 2023 – 31st March 2024 and continues to be in support of the preparation and implementation of new BNG burdens. The s31 grant must be claimed by 31st August 2023.

The purpose of the report is:

1/ To seek permission of the Executive Member for Open to Business, in consultation with the Corporate Director of Community Development, Corporate Director of Resources and the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) to authorise the Corporate Director of Resources to accept new burdens BNG funding offered by DEFRA to the value of £231,116 in order to prepare for and implement mandatory requirements for BNG.