Ecology and Biodiversity Net Gain

Ecology in Wakefield

What you need to consider when planning a development that may affect important sites for wildlife or protected species.

The council has a statutory duty as the Local Planning Authority to consider the conservation of biodiversity when making decisions on planning applications. This includes considering the safeguarding of species protected by law which includes:

the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017
the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
the Protection of Badgers Act 1992
priority species for biodiversity set out under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006

Wakefield Local Biodiversity Action Plan

Biodiversity is defined as the variety of plants and animals living within an area or habitat. The interactions between different species and their surrounding environments are known as ecosystems. Diverse ecosystems are vital to the health of the planet and of our communities.

Wakefield Local Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) provided by the Wakefield District Biodiversity Group, outlines Wakefield’s wildlife conservation priorities and gives guidance on how to conserve, protect and enhance biodiversity.

The Wakefield BAP details priority habitats (those most threatened and requiring conservation action) and will inform, and eventually be replaced, by the new West Yorkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy, currently being prepared by West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Further information on nature conservation and wildlife in Wakefield district is available on the Parks and Countryside nature conservation and wildlife webpage.

Biodiversity Net Gain

Under the Environment Act 2021, most development must achieve a 10% increase in Biodiversity or Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). Biodiversity Net Gain means providing more or better habitats for biodiversity. This new legislation applies to planning applications for major development received from 12 February 2024 and to planning applications for minor development received from 2 April 2024. It measured using the Statutory Defra Biodiversity Metric or Statutory Small Sites Metric (SSM). It encourages development that delivers biodiversity improvements. This is done through habitat creation or enhancement, after avoiding or mitigating harm.

What you need to support your planning application

The Council is seeking at least of 10% Biodiversity Net Gain from development. This is shown using the Statutory Biodiversity Metric. You should consider this early in design. Ecologists should provide input. They should be competent and experienced. Net gain should be delivered on-site. If this is not possible, it may involve off-site compensation. This will need to be agreed with the Council.

The Council will expect all applications to follow this guidance to ensure that the information is consistent. This helps them make timely decisions. The Council provides a pre-application advice service which may help with this process. Planning applications that are not exempt from BNG must be accompanied by the latest minimum national information required in relation to BNG. This can be viewed within Paragraph: 011 Reference ID: 74-011-20240214 on Biodiversity net gain - GOV.UK.

There are cases where an application may be exempt from providing BNG. You can check if your application is exempt on Biodiversity net gain: exempt developments - GOV.UK.

Biodiversity Net Gain for Smaller Sites

Smaller sites will usually need less information, but will still need to provide the 10% BNG. The Small Sites Metric (SSM) can be used on residential developments of:

between one and nine dwellings inclusive (on a site with an area measuring less than one hectare)
an unknown number of dwellings with a site area measuring less than 0.5 hectares

For non-residential applications, the site area must be less than one hectare, or have less than 1000 square meters of created floorspace.

It is not possible to use the SSM on all small sites. These criteria must also be met to use it:

where only the habitats available in the SSM are present on-site
where no priority habitats are within the development site
where no statutory protected sites or habitats are present
where no European protected species are present

Information about the designated nature conservation sites and the Wildlife Habitat Network in Wakefield can be found using our Local Plan Policies Map and chapter 8 of the Local Plan.

Ecology assessments

In support of your application, additional ecological surveys may be required. Most applications will need to have completed a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) of which, a report can be used in support of your application (PEAR). The PEAR will inform other surveys which may be required such as an Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA) or protected species surveys.

PEA(R)

The preliminary ecological appraisal consists of a desk study and a site assessment.

The PEA will identify potential ecological constraints, make recommendations for design options to avoid significant effects on important ecological features, identify mitigation measures as far as possible and identify enhancement opportunities. It should be carried out by a suitably qualified ecologist and follow the guidelines for carrying out a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal.

If your PEAR concludes that your project will have negligible ecological impacts, no mitigation is required and no further surveys are necessary, you should submit the report along with your planning application. If further survey work is required, these should be completed and submitted to support your application.

EcIA

Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA) is a more detailed process of identifying, quantifying and evaluating the potential effects of a development, regarding impacts on species, habitats, and / or ecosystems for submission with a planning application.

The assessment considers impacts within the development site, the surrounding locality and, where appropriate, on regional or national ecological resources. The EcIA should be carried out by a suitably qualified ecologist and in accordance with current guidance Combined-EclA-guidelines-2018-compressed.pdf (cieem.net).

Biodiversity Net Gain Policy

Wakefield District Local Plan

The Policies in the Local Plan on nature conservation can be found in the adopted Local Plan, including:

Strategic Policy SP23 Design, Safety and the Local Environment and paragraphs 6.137-6.138
Local Policy LP51 Ecological and Geological Conservation and paragraphs 7.153-7.157
Local Policy LP52 Ecological Protection of Watercourses and Water Bodies and paragraphs 7.158-7.159
Local Policy LP53 Wildlife Habitat Network and 7.160-7.163

Supplementary Planning Document

The Council adopted the Wakefield District Biodiversity Net Gain Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) on 15 October 2024. This sets out the approach to delivering 10% biodiversity net gain in new development in the district. This is a material consideration for planning applications. Please visit the Supplementary Planning Documents webpage to view the SPD and supporting information.

Guidance for Householders

Most homeowner applications (for extensions or alterations to small homes) won't need to create biodiversity net gain. But, this Biodiversity Guidance for Householders shows how to add to biodiversity. This can be done through sensitive planting and features like bat roosting and bird nesting.

Long Term Monitoring Fees

A Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan (HMMP) will be required for significant on-site net gains and all off-site net gains for a minimum of 30 years.

In order for the Council to audit the delivery of Biodiversity Units (BUs) approved within the Biodiversity Gain Plan and check that the management plan is being complied with, Monitoring Reports will be required for all significant on-site net gain and all off-site net gain. In these instances, the Council will use Section 106 Legal Agreements to secure the delivery and maintenance and reporting Biodiversity Net Gain.

A monitoring fee will be taken upon approval of a Biodiversity Gain Plan by the Council to cover the long-term costs of the Council to review reports and undertake site visits over the 30-year period. The current agreed charge is £5,000 per biodiversity unit (index linked). This is currently under review and will be updated shortly to be proportionate to the scale of the site and the complexity of the habitats to be delivered. Any non-significant on-site gains will not incur a monitoring fee.

Biodiversity Net Gain on Council land

Applications being determined after the adoption of the Local Plan on 24 January 2024 are expected to provide 10% biodiversity net gain in line with the policies in the adopted Local Plan. For major applications submitted before the 12 February 2024 and minor applications submitted before 2nd April 2024, the Council may accept a contribution for Biodiversity Units (subject to offsetting being approved for the proposal). All contributions for offsetting BNG on Council land will require a Section 106 Agreement.

The cost per Biodiversity Unit is £25,000 (index linked) which is broken down as follows:

£20,000 for habitat creation and management
£2,500 site assessment and Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan
£2,500 long term monitoring fee

Bats

The Guidance for using the Bat Alert Layer created by West Yorkshire Ecology can be used in combination with the Bat Alert Layer for Wakefield to determine whether a bat survey will be necessary for your application. A PEA will also inform on potential risk to bats.

Surveys must adhere to the Minimum standards for bat surveys in West Yorkshire or, if you are planning a small or household development between October and April, please refer to the Bat surveys out of season flow diagram.

Where bat surveys are required, they should be carried out by a suitably qualified ecologist and in accordance with current guidance - Bat Conservation Trust (2023) Bat Surveys for Professional Ecologists: Good Practice Guidelines 4th edition).

West Yorkshire Ecology

West Yorkshire Ecology provide the Local Ecological Records Centre which can be used to inform planning applications.

Please contact ecology@wyjs.org.uk or 0113 535 3015.