Biodiversity Net Gain: What it means for Yorkshire landowners

Biodiversity Net Gain and natural capital help protect nature – but what does this mean for landowners? Picture: Adobe

‘Natural capital’ has been a buzzword for a little while now – it describes the economic benefits of nature, particularly natural environments attached to farmland or development sites – but it’s not exactly obvious what that might look like in practice.

This November, the Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements come into force under the Environment Act 2021. These mandate landowners to leave the natural environment in a measurably better state than it was beforehand. It requires that planning permissions will result in a 10% uplift in the biodiversity for any development site, but this percentage can vary depending on the relevant local authority. Initially, it will apply to larger developments before smaller sites must also meet the requirements from April 2024.

Help for farmers

James Lloyd from Wilkin Chapman. Submitted picture

The potential good news for the farming community is that developers may purchase ‘biodiversity units’ from other land if they’re unable to meet the requirements on their own development. You can sell biodiversity units for your land if you are the landowner, the long-term leaseholder, the tenant farmer or a business or organisation that carries out habitat creation or enhancements.

These units may be worth a decent amount on the basis they will open up the ability to develop land. You could also combine biodiversity net gain with other private benefits or payments for environmental improvements.

Number-crunching

There are clearly a number of practical items to consider, such as working out the baseline from which biodiversity will be measured, and there are also restrictions: You cannot sell biodiversity units when you are already required to create or enhance habitat for restocking trees or remediation under the environmental damage regulations, for example.

You may also need to gain consent from Natural England if your land is a protected site and it is important to consider the general impact on your land prior to any legal agreement.

By selling biodiversity units, you will be making a commitment to managing the habitat for at least 30 years, which is clearly a long time. If you are a tenant registering someone else’s land, you will be required to provide proof that you have the landowners consent to show you can commit to 30 years.

Lastly, you will need to agree a habitat management and monitoring plan with the local authority and there will also be a registration obligation for BNG sites from November 2023.

If you’d like advice or guidance around your obligations surrounding the Biodiversity Net Gain Scheme or if you’re considering buying or selling biodiversity units, contact James Lloyd on 01482 398396, email [email protected] or visit https://www.wilkinchapman.co.uk/business/agricultural-property-law