Executives from across the nature sector have called on the UK government to better resource local authorities to help them implement its biodiversity net gain (BNG) policy, as the requirements become mandatory.

Greater resourcing for local authorities should be one of the top five “immediate”, “high” priorities for policymakers, the government-backed Green Finance Institute (GFI) said.

GFI has “concerns” around local authorities’ limited capacity, support, and resources to perform its role of assessing developers’ plans to meet BNG requirements.

“Most local planning authorities do not have the required expertise or capacity to assess BNG applications. There are concerns of a skills shortage due to a large demand for ecologists,” it said in a report on Monday.

The government said it was committing £10.6 million of funding to help local authorities expand their ecologist teams (see full response below).

BNG delivery requires input from local government teams with legal, project management, and landscape expertise.

“However, many do not have the requisite expertise or capacity to feed into BNG delivery, and those charged with BNG delivery are unsure of where else to access this input.”

The report offers a briefing note for the government on the most pressing issues raised by a broad group of experts.

“Much of the regulation around BNG allows local authorities to set their own standards and processes, but many are unclear on how to proceed and do not have enough capacity to develop these without precedent or guidance,” GFI said.

The recommended solutions to help improve local authority resourcing include:

• Creating a standardised policy procedure
• Backing an advisory service to enable peer-to-peer learning
• Introducing a capacity-building facility to offer technical assistance
• Reviewing delivery of BNG within the next two years

A government-backed survey of 192 local authorities, published in 2022, found just 5% had adequate resources to scrutinise all applications that might affect biodiversity. The remaining authorities had very limited capacity to assess applications.

Under the BNG rules, development projects in England need to achieve a net biodiversity improvement of at least 10% from Monday.

Observers are keenly watching the progression of the law as it could set a global standard for government nature requirements, while creating a market for statutory biodiversity credits that developers have to buy off-site as a ‘last resort’.

The BNG market is expected to be worth between £135 mln and £274 mln annually, the government said last year.

UNCERTAIN SUCCESS

Richard Broadbent, director of law firm Freeths, said the rollout of mandatory BNG has been “far from perfect” due to delays. The government pushed back the implementation of its requirements by three months.

“Many of the local authorities I have worked with still feel unprepared for mandatory BNG, and have real concerns over important issues such as enforcement of on-site and off-site net gains when their resources are already so stretched,” Broadbent said in a blog.

“The lack of designated responsible bodies by the Secretary of State means that one of the legal mechanisms to secure mandatory BNG, conservation covenants, cannot yet be used.”

A conservation covenant is a private agreement to conserve the natural features of land intended to provide payments for BNG.

Political backsliding may become tempting if implementation of BNG becomes too complicated, Broadbent said. “The success of mandatory BNG is therefore by no means certain.”

SKILLS GAP

Ensuring authorities have sufficient resources for monitoring and enforcing BNG was one of the top three recommendations in a report published by charity coalition Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL) last week.

The government must require the recording of on-site gains on the BNG register, while providing support for local planning authorities to enforce legislation, WCL said.

Barriers to adopting rigorous BNG targets that exceed the 10% minimum requirement include a lack of access to ecological advice, it said.

“A council’s level of access to an ecologist or biodiversity team will have an important influence on its BNG targets. This is one area which falls victim to the wider greens skills gap present in the UK.”

The cost of increasing BNG requirements for developers from 10% to 20% is “often very manageable”, the report continued. A target of 10% is “not ambitious enough” to combat the biodiversity crisis in the country.

Two local authorities in London – Kingston-upon-Thames and Tower Hamlets – have policies of 30% BNG, while 20 authorities across the country are targeting levels above 10%, WCL found.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

In response to the calls for more resourcing, a government spokesperson said they recognised that public and private sectors face capacity and capability challenges.

The government has taken steps to equip local authorities including a £29 mln Planning Skills Delivery Fund to upskill personnel. Some 180 organisations have been awarded over £14 mln collectively so far from the fund.

The government’s planning capacity programme should help fund bursaries and graduate recruitment for local authorities, they said.

Planning fees increased by 25-35% last December in a move that should help fund local authorities, they continued.

“BNG will ensure that new developments work for both wildlife and people. To achieve this, we are working closely with local authorities.”

“We estimate that introducing a mandatory 10% gain will create or secure areas of habitat the size of Bromley borough [in London] every year, while striking the right balance for developers and positive outcomes for nature.”

The complicated BNG legislation has faced numerous issues over the last year, including claims it could incentivise building in nature recovery areas, pose serious risks to ecology, and has fundamental gaps in its market infrastructure.

By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com

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