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ID sylw: 108640

Derbyniwyd: 07/03/2025

Ymatebydd: Kiely Bros Holdings Ltd

Asiant : Pegasus Group

Policy Direction 38 – Biodiversity Net Gain
10.3.
The Environment Act 2021 stipulates that developments must provide a Biodiversity Net Gain of at least 10%. There is no need for a policy in the SWLP Part 1 which duplicates this statutory requirement; it would be sufficient and consistent with the NPPF to simply state that a net gain will be sought in accordance with the latest statutory requirements, which may change over the plan period.
10.4.
If the Councils seek to specify a requirement within the Local Plan which is greater than 10%, as implied in the policy direction, this will need to be fully supported by the latest evidence (including on plan viability) to ensure the policy is justified; this evidence is currently unavailable. This approach could result in negative effects with regards to SA Objectives 9 (Housing) and 13 (Economy) due to the impacts on costs and viability which could arise from a requirement in excess of 10%
, and this should have been recognised in the SA. It also potentially requires more land to deliver the BNG, meaning that sites need to be larger. Taking these points into account, it is considered that the Council should not establish standards which go beyond the statutory requirements.
10.5.
Any biodiversity policy should be drafted to provide as much flexibility as possible. The policy direction does recognise this, which is supported. The test is whether the 10% is delivered, not the method by which it is delivered. As set out in the Environment Act, gains can be provided through enhancing biodiversity on site, a combination of on and off-site delivery (with the latter on land owned by the developer outside of the red line boundary, or through the purchase of off-site biodiversity units), or, alternatively, biodiversity credits can be purchased. The way in which ‘net gains’ are calculated must be given careful consideration and a pragmatic view should be taken in terms of the delivery mechanism of biodiversity enhancements.