BASE HEADER

Other

ID sylw: 108474

Derbyniwyd: 07/03/2025

Ymatebydd: Magdalen College, Oxford

Asiant : Savills

Magdalen College, Oxford supports the aim of this Direction to achieve a minimum 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), which is consistent with national legislation. However, we are cautious about the proposal to seek out evidence that may support a requirement of above 10%.
The latest guidance was published by the Government in February 2024 and says, “… plan-makers should not seek a higher percentage than the statutory objective of 10% biodiversity net gain, either on an area-wide basis or for specific allocations for development unless justified. To justify such policies, they will need to be evidenced including as to local need for a higher percentage, local opportunities for a higher percentage and any impacts on viability for development. Consideration will also need to be given to how the policy will be implemented.”
The Government guidance sets a high bar for justifying such a policy. The area in question should be significantly worse than the country as a whole and the decline should be linked to new development rather than generic changes such as to farming practices or industrial pollution. For example, the State of Nature Report 2023 (State of Nature Partnership, 2023), identified the primary cause of decline as being ‘Intensive management of agricultural land, largely driven by policies and incentives since World War II, has been identified as the most significant factor driving species’ population change in the UK’.
Therefore, it seems unlikely that there is sufficient evidence available to justify a higher BNG requirement.