Supplementary Planning Document: Biodiversity Net Gain

Biodiversity has a natural and intrinsic value to all life. It is important because it provides essential human services such as food production, climate change adaptation, flood regulation, crop pollination plus numerous other benefits including enhancing human mental and physical well-being. Developments, no matter how small, can provide additional biodiversity which can help link to other habitats and areas of ecological importance providing opportunity for genetic diversity across Buckinghamshire’s landscapes and beyond.

Biodiversity has declined over many years as a result of human activity. In 1992, the UK government signed up to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity; this committed the UK to reverse the loss of biodiversity. Successive governments have produced plans to stem and reverse the loss of biodiversity and have committed to higher targets to achieve this reversal. Measures to protect biodiversity include laws, such as the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (2006) which protects species and habitats.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has also been strengthened over the years with regards to biodiversity, moving from aspiring for ‘no net loss’ of biodiversity to requiring a ‘biodiversity net gain’. This is in line with the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, and strengthened by the requirement for a minimum 10% net gain under the Environment Act (2021) and changes to the Town and Country Planning Act (1990).

This SPD has been produced with advice from the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Natural Environment Partnership. It sets out guidance on how biodiversity net gain can be delivered in Buckinghamshire.

The guidance is to support:

• planning applicants to follow the national requirement to ensure their development would result in a biodiversity net gain
• a Buckinghamshire process for achieving biodiversity should that net gain not be achievable on their development site
• a process by which landowners can offer their land for consideration as a potential site for hosting biodiversity net gain than cannot be met on a development site

This document has been produced to provide guidance in support of the following development plans and national guidance. The policies are provided in full in Appendix 1.