Biodiversity Net Gain has now been mandatory for 7 months and in that time the sector has been adapting to make the most of the opportunity to do more for nature. At NatureSpace we have been working hard to develop a new integrated District Licence and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) approach – enabling developers to save time and money whilst improving outcomes for nature.
Our project to design an integrated delivery model – using ‘stacked’ delivery of BNG and great crested newt (GCN) units – was funded by Defra and is fully compliant with legislation and guidance. It makes the process for developers who need both types of ‘unit’ at the same time simple and cost-efficient.
Here are some of the challenges and opportunities the integrated system overcomes:
Ensuring Additionality
Applying the ‘Additionality Principle’ for certain nature markets (including District Licencing) has been outlined by Defra as counting “in part – for mitigation and compensation actions …”. Developers paying into our District Licencing scheme can use the compensation our non-governmental organisation (NGO) delivery partners create off-site for newts towards their BNG requirements (NB: up to no net loss – the extra 10% of units provided beyond no net loss must come from BNG-only compensation).
Thus, developers can combine the two schemes to ensure a cost-effective route through planning, whilst also ensuring that high-integrity units of habitat are created for both great crested newts and biodiversity as a whole, delivered and managed by our trusted NGO District Licensing partners.
Avoiding Double Funding
Of course, compensating for impacts to great crested newt habitat and compensating for loss of biodiversity are two separate issues. To ensure that great crested newts are properly compensated by development, we create habitat specifically designed for this species, through the District Licence scheme, at a landscape level. Simultaneously however, the biodiversity net gain metrics can still be applied to the development site to account for all the habitats impacted.
Our integratedpackage enables the biodiversity value (in units) of a development’s District Licence compensation requirement to contribute towards their Biodiversity Net Gain needs. Though there are a suite of extra costs associated with the BNG delivery (extra years, more administration and monitoring etc), the stacking of benefits on the same compensation land means there is a cost-saving compared to dealing with the two requirements separately.
“Integrating Biodiversity Net Gain with District Licencing is fascinating as it provides one of the first real world examples of nature market ‘stacking’, by ensuring created habitat is appropriate to compensate for the whole range of impacts a development has, while maintaining development viability through combined cost savings.” Andy Buxton, Head of Science, NatureSpace Partnership.
Quality Habitat
At NatureSpace we always put nature conservation outcomes first. Through our integratedBNG package we will continue to successfully deliver great crested newt conservation whilst also creating high integrity biodiversity units that will contribute to Local Nature Recovery Strategies. Read our 5 year monitoring report here.
If developers choose our integrated Biodiversity Net Gain package, they are supporting delivery of the highest quality habitats, created with landowners that care about nature and monitored by the Newt Conservation Partnership. Our sites are chosen and designed to ensure the best outcomes for nature, strategically sited across the landscape to give species the greatest chance of thriving and expanding their ranges in the face of our changing climate.
“BNG provides the Newt Conservation Partnership a great opportunity to expand the range of high-quality habitats we can deliver, supporting landowners to make positive changes for nature, and turning Local Nature Recovery Strategies into action.” Alex Harcourt, BNG Team Lead at Newt Conservation Partnership.
The integrated delivery system offers developers a one stop shop for great crested newts and Biodiversity Net Gain, giving high-quality service and compensation habitat and saving time and money.
If you have a project that would benefit from our integrated package, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team via our email.
