How can developers prepare for Biodiversity Net Gain?
From February 12th 2024 new large developments will require a 10% increase in biodiversity net gain as part of new government legislation under the town and country planning act. Whilst focus has been upon driving buildings to become net zero and carbon neutral the requirement for improved biodiversity will now have to become a key consideration for developers.
Written by
Ed Haynes
Sustainability Consultant
To contact please email:
edward.haynes@mainer.co.uk
What is biodiversity net gain and why is it important?
Biodiversity can be defined as the variety or living species in an environment including plants and animals. Biodiversity refers to all the species in one area and is a key component of what makes up a habitat’s ecosystem. Research has proven biodiversity contributes to improvements to human health, economies and livelihoods and can include:
Supporting healthy ecosystems improves mental and physical wellbeing.
Essential part in the solution to climate change.
Helps prevent disease and reduce impacts of natural disasters or extreme weather.
Integral part of culture and identity.
Carbon Sequestration (process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere).
Having been acknowledged as one of the top five risks in the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Global Risks Report, recent years have seen the acknowledgement the role biodiversity plays in human life and the importance the role humans must play in protecting and improving it.
Biodiversity integrated into the NOMA Esate, Manchester
How will the new legislation support biodiversity?
The legislation will become mandatory rom 12th February 2024 for larger developments and the 2nd of April 2024 for smaller ones. It will require a 10% improvement on the losses the development would cause to the environment which will be calculated on metrics affecting the habitat such as area, distinctiveness or existing condition. The enhancement to biodiversity will also not be limited to the developed area and off-site improvements will be a viable options for developers although will potentially incur a greater cost.
In years gone by biodiversity has been approached as more of an afterthought and the new legislation aims to address the issue by making it a key consideration of any planning application. Focus on integrating net gain into the early design stages will make achieving the 10% targets easier and more cost effective for the developer as well as more valuable for the environment rather than attempting to incorporate net gain approaches later in the design process limiting opportunities.
Many experts in the field believe this will be a great step forward in improving the construction industries approach to biodiversity as well as offering a smooth transition for non-ecological/environmental focused fields. Long term goals involve linking all facets of sustainability in a way which can integrate improvements across all connected elements from the early design.
What can be done to achieve the target?
A number of innovative approaches to biodiversity integration to the built environment are already in circulation and continue to seamlessly integrate into a buildings design. Some technologies and strategies currently helping achieve biodiversity net gain include:
Living Walls
Bee Bricks and bird boxes
Green Roofs
Green Corridors
Encouraging town planners, architects and construction engineers to consider biodiversity in how they design and build urban developments using sustainable construction practices, like above, will make the green transition easier.
Looking to the future
Achieving the biodiversity net gain targets will become pivotal in the construction industry and numerous approaches will be explored to reach the targets. Providing new habitats could be achieved by on-site development, on the developer’s land, external land or government biodiversity credits. Greatest cost would most likely result from the latter 3 options therefore approaching the topic early will be the most efficient.
One Click LCA software, currently primarily an embodied carbon measuring software, is currently developing a tool to support the early design process improvement of biodiversity net gain and will also be able to analyse the supply chains impact on biodiversity stress. One Click are developing their tool with UK Habitat Classification (UKHab Ltd) to enable UK customers to streamline the process for regulatory or voluntary biodiversity improvements. At Mainer we will be exploring this tool for future works upon release to allow ourselves to contribute to the biodiversity net gain legislation and further contribute to a sustainable built environment.
Europe’s largest living wall at Eden, New Bailey in Salford
Our Biodiversity Net Gain experience
Having recently worked on the embodied carbon and BREEAM assessments at Eden, New Bailey in Salford, biodiversity and wellness were key considerations of the early design and it’s living façade compromising 350,000 plants demonstrated the significant difference early design consideration can have on delivering biodiversity and sustainability.
If you liked to talk about Biodiversity Net Gain on your next project, please contact us here
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