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1.     
To allow Chorley Council to enter standalone legal
agreements (specifically Section 106 agreements) with private
landowners to secure offsite Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) within the
borough; including:
a)     
Council officers can engage with landowners wanting
to create a ‘biodiversity gain site’ or ‘habitat
bank’
b)    
The council is to adopt the BNG Habitat Banking
Criteria (Appendix 1) to guide discussions and collation of
relevant information from the landowner to inform
proposals
c)     
Upon receipt of necessary information from
landowners as set out in the criteria, officers can enter into negotiations with landowners with a view
to:
·        
Agree the site proposals;
·        
Checking proposals are suitable and acceptable for
offsite Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG); and
·        
Agreeing a Section 106 (or ‘S106’) to
secure the site and a 30-year Habitat Management and Monitoring
Plan (HMMP), as appropriate.
d)    
The Chief Planning Officer will negotiate S106
agreements on this matter and amend the guidance in light of experience and/or updated guidance or
legislation from the government, with the support of Council
officers and Biodiversity Gain Project Lead.
e)     
That any such agreements will only be signed in
consultation with officers, including the Director of Finance,
Director of Property and Planning, Head of Legal and Procurement
and the Biodiversity Gain Project Lead.

2.     
To support Council officers to progress work, in
principle, to put Council assets forward for off-site BNG. The
decision to create habitat banks on individual sites to be
delegated to the Executive Member for Economic Development and
Public Service Reform), in consultation with the Director of
Property and Planning, informed by a business case on a
site-by-site basis.