The Division for Atmosphere, Meals and Rural Affairs (Defra) has appointed a brand new ‘responsible body’. Ecological consultancy RSK Biocensus – and particularly its biodiversity internet acquire (BNG) group RSK Wilding – is likely one of the first organisations authorised to work with landowners and builders to safe areas of conservation and biodiversity.
RSK Wilding Senior Authorized Adviser Natalie Bryce mentioned {that a} accountable physique was a brand new place created by the Atmosphere Act 2021 and allowed for contracts, generally known as conservation covenants, to be entered into. These are agreements on how an space of land can be utilized and might embody constructive obligations, in addition to restrictive ones. They need to be for the general public good and have a conservation objective. As soon as the conservation covenant has been agreed, it’s registered as a neighborhood land cost and turns into binding for all future homeowners of the land.
Defra’s steering through the session interval described conservation covenants as a brand new authorized software to assist landowners: “Leaving our environment in a better state than we found it for future generations to enjoy requires long-term investment and stability. Where landowners seek to secure positive environmental outcomes, they have no adequate mechanism to secure those benefits over the long term. We need a new legal tool – conservation covenants.”
Natalie added: “The fantastic thing about conservation covenants is that they provide a faster, extra versatile and more practical means of ringfencing land for a sure use versus utilizing a planning obligation (or part 106 settlement).
“Our shared goal is for the landowner to be able to protect, conserve or enhance the land as they wish and get the planning permissions they need if BNG is needed for a development.”
Natalie mentioned that the position of the accountable physique was to supply the authorized resolution by means of a conservation covenant, which might be drafted by RSK Biocensus’ authorized group.
“We will also monitor the landowner’s obligations under the covenant to ensure the land is being used as it should. RSK Wilding, part of RSK Biocensus, will review the land management plans and collaborate with the landowner to agree the most beneficial system of monitoring.”
She mentioned that the system can be notably helpful given the latest change in planning regulation. “From 12 February this yr, most planning permissions, with some exceptions, might be granted provided that the landowner or developer can present that they don’t seem to be simply offsetting their biodiversity loss however are changing it with a minimal 10% BNG over a interval of 30 years or extra.
“Landowners can create and/or enhance areas for habitats on their land and register the resulting uplift in biodiversity units (along with a legal agreement) on the government’s new biodiversity gain site register. These units can then be sold to developers that need to secure off-site BNG.”
Some examples of how the brand new system might work embody:
- A developer who wants planning permission can ring-fence on-site land, or purchase land exterior to their improvement web site, and safe their 10% BNG with a conservation covenant.
- If a developer doesn’t want to purchase the BNG land, they’ll buy BNG items – these may be secured by a covenant between the landowner and a accountable physique.
- A habitat financial institution that’s shopping for land to be cut up into items can safe these with a conservation covenant earlier than allocating to patrons.
- A neighborhood authority that’s constructing a improvement can enter right into a conservation covenant with a accountable physique, simplifying the planning course of for itself.
Natalie added that conservation covenants can have a variety of makes use of past BNG and can be utilized for any sort of conservation, from defending heritage property and mitigating flooding to making sure nutrient neutrality. They are often huge or very particular, for instance, stopping using a particular pesticide on sure flora.
