That the Cabinet:-
1) notes the contents of this report which, amongst other things, explains the Council’s obligations around Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), the role of Habitat Banks and the potential consideration of Council-owned land for BNG purposes;
2) agrees that proposed ‘Policy on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)’ (attached as Appendix 1 to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.1)) is adopted as the Council’s interim corporate position pending the outcome of the Local Plan review, for the purposes of dealing with matters relating to BNG;
3) refers the aforementioned policy to the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee for its consideration for inclusion in the Tendring District Local Plan as part of its current review;
4) invites the Planning Committee, at its earliest convenience, to consider and determine how it will exercise its power in respect of Council decisions on entering into legal agreements with landowners under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning 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 deems it appropriate for such decision-making powers to be delegated to Officers; and any arrangements for public consultation on specific proposals; and
5) notes that the Portfolio Holder responsible for Housing and Planning in liaison with Officers will, in due course, consider and publish details of the fees to be charged to developers and landowners to cover the Council’s costs in respect of monitoring BNG in line with its statutory obligations.