CIEEM Releases Biodiversity Net Gain for Small Sites Report
CIEEM is pleased to share a new report summarising
responses to a Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) for small sites in England survey that was carried out last month. It reflects the views of over 250 respondents, primarily consultant ecologists and local planning authority staff, but reinforces concerns already highlighted by developers and other stakeholder groups.
Although we are only 8 months into the application of mandatory BNG for small sites, it is clear that its implementation is causing major concerns amongst the practitioner community. In many instances this reflects similar concerns reported from developers and planning agents.
The report summarises that BNG for small sites is a great opportunity to deliver biodiversity benefit at a local scale. It was almost inevitable that there would be initial problems with implementation and, as our report shows, this has certainly been the case. But the good news is that there are a number of ‘fixes’ that could be applied, within the constraints of the legislation, that would enable BNG for small sites to meet its nature recovery ambitions. We believe that there is a strong body of evidence that should convince Defra and Natural England to consider reform of the BNG for small sites approach and we believe that a collaborative approach to designing those changes, involving all key stakeholders including the ecological practitioners charged with applying the scheme, will deliver the best and most effective outcomes.