BNG Habitat Banks –Call for sites

BNG Habitat Banks – Call for sites

In accordance with new Environment Act 2021 legislation, large development projects in the district will now be required to deliver a minimum BNG improvement of 10%. This is calculated via a measurement framework that accounts for the size, quality and type of the habitat at the construction site.

The required BNG should be prioritised for delivery within the development site but if this is not feasible the shortfall must be provided at off-site locations referred to as Biodiversity Gain Sites, also known as habitat banks.

As part of Newark and Sherwood District Council’s Biodiversity Net Gain plans it is issuing a call to local landowners to identify land that might be suitable as a Biodiversity Gain Site. If you are interested in getting involved, you can get in touch by filling in the Expression of Interest Form [54kb] and emailing it to planningpolicy@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk or you can print the form: Expression of Interest Form (printable version) (PDF File, 154kb) and send by post. Once submitted an officer from the Council will contact you.

The Council will then aim to support landowners who have sites they are interested in developing for nature with the objective of then being able to sell biodiversity units to developers who have a shortfall in meeting their BNG requirements. It is important for a sufficient supply of these sites to be available within the district to minimise the chances of off-site BNG being located outside of the district.