More Support for Nature Needed in New Developments

At the Climate and Environment Emergency Executive Panel on Tuesday 8 November, Green Councillors will challenge Norwich City Council’s proposed target of ‘at least ten per cent’ Biodiversity Net Gain for all new planning permissions, saying that it lacks ambition and the Council should aim for twenty percent adopted by other urban planning authorities such as Cambridge, Guildford, Lichfield and Swindon.

Under the Environment Act 2021, Biodiversity Net Gain has been made a statutory duty for local planning authorities in all new planning permissions(1). With the UK languishing in the bottom ten per cent of countries globally for biodiversity (2), Biodiversity Net Gain is just one of the measures in the Act aimed at revitalising nature, (3).  On top of habitat loss, nature is also struggling in the face of rapid climate change, as the summer heatwave and drought have shown.

Denise Carlo, a Green Party councillor for Nelson who sits on the panel said:

“New housing built to accommodate a near nine percent increase in Norwich’s population since 2011 (4), has resulted in the loss to development of numerous odd corners of land valuable for wildlife. Insufficient replacement measures such as hedges, trees, grass, bird and bat boxes and hedgehog highways have been incorporated into development designs.  An ambition of twenty per cent Biodiversity Net Gain for new planning permissions is vital for rebuilding local nature. The drive for low-cost maintenance by local authorities, developers, landlords and householders is another issue that is harming urban nature. Trees, hedges and grass which provide important habitats and food sources for wildlife and also valuable environmental services such as cooling the air are increasingly being replaced by fences on concrete bases, paving and plastic lawns.”