Bio-diversity Net Gain for single dwelling

[Rishard]

Has anyone come up against submitting a net gain for bio-diversity for their build? It can be submitted by non ecologists but the current ‘matrix’ system in place seems far to broad in terms of describing a garden. The current planning officer has no working examples. Reaching out to see if other self builders have had to submit something similar. 

[Jilly]

Gosh that could be tricky to do properly or easy at the most basic 'rewilding'. I want to put a pond in my garden but spoke to the ecologist about it when he was monitoring my expensive bats and he said, 'Yeah, there's a risk you'll attract Greater Crested Newts...

Sorry, no help!

Edited March 24, 2022 by Jilly

[bob the builder 2]

Hi - also been asked to prove a 10% biodiversity net gain in my landscape plan - any ideas how to do or calculate this would be appreciated !

 

bob 

[ProDave]

Didn't we discuss this when it was first mooted.

 

Unless you blitz the site pre development with roundup, and fill all ponds with cow slurry, I cannot possibly see how taking a bare plot of land like ours was (left untended for 30 years, turning to scrub) and building a house on it, could possibly ever increase the boidiversity.

 

A whole new industry for creative surveyors has opened up it would seem.

[Rishard]

When I use ‘the matrix’ which natural England have clearly spent a lot of time developing… I got a 400% net gain turning my concrete drive with no vegetation into shrubs and wildflower grass totalling 0.002 hectares. Slightly confused with the hectare metric used for a site which is not even half a hectare! Que the helpful ecologist surveyor who wants £400 + vat for a 1 hour report, no doubt. 

[ProDave]

13 minutes ago, Rishard said:

When I use ‘the matrix’ which natural England have clearly spent a lot of time developing… I got a 400% net gain turning my concrete drive with no vegetation into shrubs and wildflower grass totalling 0.002 hectares. Slightly confused with the hectare metric used for a site which is not even half a hectare! Que the helpful ecologist surveyor who wants £400 + vat for a 1 hour report, no doubt. 

My point exactly.

 

So now take 1/3 of an acre currently un tended for 30 years, mostly scrub, some trees.  Clear the site, remove all the saplings only leaving some of the mature trees, build a house on it, some land occupied by the house, some taken up for parking etc, the rest laid to lawn.  I defy anybody to be able to demonstrate how that could ever increase biodiversity?

 

If this becomes a requirement for all new dwellings then I really do see sites being rendered sterile before they even involve the planners.

 

It's a nonsense.

[Rishard]

Your right, the section stated as ‘off site post development’ basically falls into bio-diversity offsetting… 

[jamieled]

Are you using the right 'matrix? There is a simple version for small developments.

[SteamyTea]

Isn't the key part 'diversity'.

So taking scrubland, which has low biodiversity and just planting plenty of different local plants, especially ones that may attract nesting birds increases the diversity.

It is the argument that golf courses use when converting farmland to waste of good building land.

[Rishard]

I am using the small sites matrix yes. Have you filled it out? Where there is less to fill out than the larger site matrix it is still rather vague in terms of describing what I have. Like I said earlier, with my concrete drive I was able to increase diversity 400% with hedges and grass. Sub headings consist of, lakes, costal lagoons, rocky shore, coastal salt marsh, intertidal sediment, heathland and shrub, cropland. They all have slightly better options once you narrow them down but doesn’t go very close to describing the rose bush and rotten pear tree I have. I’m very much in favour of improving the diversity of the plot. 

[Rishard]

Just to note, the concrete drive is as existing and is to be removed as part of the build. Hence the large gains. 

[bob the builder 2]

HI All

 

Has anyone worked out the best way to satisfy a condition that requires a 10% net gain ?

 

Also - any views on cost of such a report (or potential suppliers) would be appreciated.

 

Many thanks

[saveasteading]

4 hours ago, bob the builder 2 said:

any ideas how to do or calculate this

Yes you have to lie or do silly things in most cases. If this was brownfield then there is a chance. A  new building on virgin ground cannot increase nature, but can play with diversity .

 

Really you have to study the guidleines and tick the boxes.

 

I don't know what your targets are , but for Breeam ratings they have examples of what they count as significant creatures. So if there are sparrows but no bluetits, you put up bird houses that will encourage them, and a peanut tree. Etc

Don't assume that the officer who checks this will have the faintest idea so just go for it.

 

If you have a pond you cannot assume fish, frogs and newts. Only one of these will survive the others. Like paper, scissors, stone.

But the officer probably doesn't know this.

 

Google and google until you find someone else's report, and plagiarise it.

[Rishard]

From my short experience with this, our written description of current flora and fauna on site plus our plans to introduce specific varieties of plants for nesting birds and insects and wasn’t well received. They wanted to know a number. I’ve sent the completed matrix which puts a huge percentage gain on the site. It doesn’t go far in representing the original layman’s description of habitats we aim to increase. It looks and acts more like an agricultural claim form for subsidies. 
 

arbtech will do your survey, starting at £496. As you would expect. 
 

My planning officer admits he doesn’t know what this should look like. I guess a headed letter with 15 pages of descriptions and small graphs would no doubt tick their box. 
 

 

[Big Jimbo]

An old thread, but relevant so...... What a malarky.... My wife who is a lot brighter than me, is currently trying to get her head around Biodiversity net gain. She completed the building regs part "O" to a high standard and got a pass for our previous planning for One large house. We now have permission for Two houses on the site which is preferable to us.

I said to her, no bother, we will put a couple of swift boxes in each house, and a native hedge between each property when dividing the plot, either side of a wire fence. We can put holes in the fences on all sides to allow wildlife highways, and a few bird boxes attached to the wire fencing that surrounds the plot. Each plot is about .25acres.

She tells me that bird boxes, holes in fences, swift boxes etc, count for nothing ! So i might as well block up all my existing entry ways that currently allow in Deer, to eat the hedge, Badgers, who dig up the lawn. Rabbits who spend all day eating my grass, and Foxes, who come in to eat the rabbits, or the chicken carcass that i leave out for them. I have already planted 300ft of laurel hedging to Two sides, which is now about 10ft tall. Should have left the hedging as i'm sure that would have counted.

Anyway, rant over.

What concerns me the most, is this 30 years bit for monitoring. I won't be alive then, and i don't want some stupid covenant on my house saying that any future occupant has to spend a minimum of 10 minutes a day, talking to the plants, and stroking the bluebells. Even worse, I don't want the council saying that because it is a private garden, they can't monitor it, and therefore i have to buy off site credits.

Has anybody had any recent expierience of this ? Or can recommend any good reading on the matter.

Thanks in advance.

 

[saveasteading]

Your council should have a policy statement on what they mean.

But generally, bat boxes etc are a plus, but only small.

Hedges are good though,

You need to think about ponds,  copses, meadows. Such that this plot is genuinely better for nature than it is now.

Where does your rainwater go? A soakaway satisfies building reg's but doesn't aid nature so have a pond. Barrels first, overflowing to a designed pond.

Your meadow needs a strategy too. Look into it. 

 

You're right that you could abandon it all in future, but you won't and at least it is possible to keep it with pride.

 

Search the LA planning website for similar projects. The diversity statements will be full of waffle but the fundamentals will apply. 

 

[Alan Ambrose]

>>>  minimum of 10 minutes a day, talking to the plants, and stroking the bluebells

 

It would be fun to sneak that into the statement somewhere - at least as a test of whether anyone has read the doc.

[saveasteading]

1 hour ago, Alan Ambrose said:

fun to sneak that into the statement

I've read some statements that are either total guff or a wind-up as you suggest. 

Many are clearly generic. My test would be 

The applicant loves nature especially birdies and bunnies and likes pretty trees too. 

That might creep through.