To seek the Planning Committee’s agreement to delegate future decision making powers to the Head of Planning and Building Control in respect of proposals for ‘Habitat Banks’ including their approval, entering into legal agreements and future enforcement. To also seek the Committee’s agreement to consultation arrangements for the processing of Habitat Bank proposals. These matters are referred to the Planning Committee at the request of the Cabinet, following its decision on 21 October 2024 to adopt an interim planning policy on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).

The Committee was made aware that, on 21 October 2024, the Cabinet had considered a report of the Portfolio Holder responsible for Housing and Planning seeking their agreement to adopt a policy statement on ‘Biodiversity Net Gain’ (BNG) to serve as the Council’s interim corporate position on the subject, ahead of detailed consideration as part of the forthcoming Local Plan review.

Members were informed that the policy as adopted for interim use was now applicable both in the determination of planning applications and in the consideration of proposals for ‘Habitat Banks’. Habitat Banks were parcels of land where habitats had been created or enhanced, in advance, to provide an uplift of biodiversity units. Those surplus biodiversity units could then be sold to developers to meet their BNG requirements ‘off-site’. In order to sell off-site biodiversity units, there were a number of legislative criteria that must be met; and whilst the establishment of a Habitat Bank did not require planning permission, in many cases it would require landowners to enter into a Section 106 legal agreement with the Council alongside a formal registration process with Natural England.

As well as agreeing to the adoption of the policy statement, the Cabinet had resolved to invite the Planning Committee, at its earliest convenience, to consider and determine how it would exercise its power in respect of Council decisions on entering into legal agreements with landowners under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act for the purposes of setting up Habitat Banks, guided by the aforementioned policy and the advice of Officers – including the extent to which the Committee deemed it appropriate for such decision-making powers to be delegated to Officers; and any arrangements for public consultation on specific proposals. That was because this was a fairly new area of work with no explicit arrangements set out in the Council’s Constitution in respect of delegated powers and no legislative requirements around public consultation.

It was reported that it was recommended by Officers that the consideration, approval and entering into Section 106 agreements with landowners for the establishment of Habitat Banks should be delegated to the Head of Planning and Building Control, along with decisions around future enforcement action against non-compliance. If agreed, it was recommended that those arrangements should be put forward for consideration, as part of a future review of the Council’s Constitution, as to whether explicit amendments to the wording were required.

The Committee heard that it was also recommended by Officers that no specific requirements for public or other stakeholder consultation on Habitat Bank proposals needed to be put in place, apart from technical consultation with suitably qualified ecologists for the purpose of seeking their professional advice.

Members were told that it was important to emphasise that the establishment of a Habitat Bank (as described in the Officer report (A.5)) was a different and separate concept and process from the determination of planning applications for new development that, in many cases, had a requirement to address Biodiversity Net Gain (and for which existing constitutional arrangements for the Planning Committee and appropriate delegation to Officers already, along with, statutory consultation requirements applied).

After discussion by the Committee, it was moved by Councillor Alexander, seconded by Councillor Goldman and unanimously:-

RESOLVED that the Planning Committee:-

a)    notes the adoption of the ‘Policy on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)’ as attached as part of the report tot Cabinet of 21 October 2024 (Appendix 1), as the Council’s interim policy on the subject of BNG – which was applicable to the determination of planning applications and to the consideration of proposals for ‘Habitat Banks’;

b)    agrees that future decisions for approval and/or entering into a Section 106 legal agreement with landowners for the establishment of Habitat Banks, along with any associated decisions around enforcement against non-compliance, will be delegated to the Head of Planning and Building Control;

c)    agrees that the above delegation to the Head of Planning and Building Control be put forward for consideration as part of the next review of the Council’s Constitution to determine whether any specific wording changes need to be made to either the Planning Committee’s Terms of Reference or Part 3 Delegated Powers; and

d)    confirms that the process for considering Habitat Bank proposals will not include any specific arrangements for public or wider stakeholder consultation, aside from technical consultation with suitably qualified ecologists as considered necessary for the purpose of seeking their professional advice.