One of the elements of the Environment Bill, which is expected to become law by autumn 2021 is the principle of biodiversity ‘net gain’ for developments in England. Once enacted, requirements for net gain in both terrestrial and intertidal habitats (to mean low water mark) will have to be considered, with any biodiversity impacts which arise from new developments needing to be offset through the creation and restoration of habitats with at least a net 10% increase in biodiversity overall. A key element is a metric that measures both the losses and gains so that the process can be subject to auditing.
In July, Natural England released Biodiversity Metric 3.0 click here which is expected to be used by any developer, consenting body or landowner that needs to calculate biodiversity losses and gains. A White Paper, published this week by ABPMer examines the application of Intertidal Metric 3.0 and considers what it could mean for future developments. It describes the metric in further detail and then tests it against a hypothetical scheme. Whilst reiterating support for the concept, this paper raises concerns that the latest Metric, in its current form, will result in disproportionate requirements to achieve a 10% net gain, especially in comparison to the compensatory measures requirement under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.