
25.04.2023
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Many will have seen the news last week of a farmer in Herefordshire who was jailed for 12 months for environmental offences.
The farmer was found guilty of damaging a stretch of the River Lugg after hiring diggers to undertake works including the removal of seventy-one mature trees. Vegetation and habitats were also removed through the works which forms part of a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The judge handed down a 12-month custodial sentence in addition to £1.25m in costs of which £655,000 was allocated specifically towards restoring the riverbank. The case serves as a stark reminder of the potential issues with clearance of a site ahead of a development and the possibility of breaching the Wildlife and Countryside Act, or other legislation.
In addition to existing wildlife legislation, from November 2023 there will be a requirement for developers to show a minimum 10% biodiversity net gain on all development sites as part of the governments ambition through the Environment Act to halt the loss or degradation of habitat caused by development.
As of November this year, where any deliberate clearance works are undertaken to a site in advance of a formal planning application, the Environment Act makes clear that any subsequent baseline calculation required to achieve 10% biodiversity net gain for the site will be required to consider the habitat values of the site before it was cleared.
Under the ‘precautionary principle’, where habitat has been cleared the net gain assessment will be required to assume that the value of those habitats were of the highest possible value, in addition to making assumptions about what species this habitat may have supported.
This legislative change has clear implications for how biodiversity is considered in relation to development proposals.
As is already the case with a number of Local Council’s, it seems likely that off-site credits will very often be required where on-site mitigation is not possible. Achieving biodiversity net gain will be a mandatory requirement and where not achievable on site, off site ‘credits’ will need to be purchased. Therefore, site clearance may result in legal action but also be financially detrimental as well as potentially prejudicing planning consent for development proposals.
If any of our clients would like further information on Biodiversity Net Gain and the implications for development, please get in touch.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-65339969
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