Decision Maker:

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: Yes

Date of Decision: April 17, 2025

Purpose:

Content: RESOLVED   KEY DECISION   That the Executive:   a)         Delegated authority to the Executive Director of Place and Economy, in consultation with the Executive Member for Growth and Regeneration, to agree the details of any habitat bank proposal to be secured by legal agreement;   b)         Adopted the Information Requirements and Evaluation of Habitat Bank Proposals in Appendix A and the Key Stakeholder Notification in Appendix B;   c)          Approved the principle of a price on application fee for processing habitat bank proposals and delegates authority to the Executive Director of Place and Economy, in consultation with the Executive Member for Growth and Regeneration to approve a charging schedule for such fees; and   d)         Approved the monitoring fee detailed in Appendix C for monitoring of Biodiversity Net Gain subject to ongoing review and increase.     Reasons for Recommendations:   a)      To provide a means to assess, facilitate and manage the provision of habitat banks within North Northamptonshire, thereby ensuring that: ·       Developers with the benefit of a planning permission but who are unable to provide BNG within their development site have an alternative option for its provision through the purchase of biodiversity units within North Northamptonshire ·       the Council has influence over delivery, maintenance and monitoring of BNG within its administrative area over the 30-year period.  ·       investment and delivery of biodiversity net gain is made locally rather than outside North Northamptonshire.    b)      To ensure that the Council’s costs of facilitating habitat banks are recovered.   c)      To ensure that the monitoring fees cover the Council’s costs of monitoring biodiversity net gain on both habitat banks and on sites in connection with a planning permission; and once adopted to enable the fees to be reviewed so that they remain reflective of the costs to the Council.    Alternative Options Considered: a)      To do nothing, but this would leave a risk of investment in habitat banks being directed outside of North Northamptonshire. In addition, the Council’s inclusion as a signatory to S106 Agreements provides the Council with an extra level of input into how habitat banks are managed, and the monitoring regimes. Doing nothing could also stall delivery of development as developers struggle to find alternative provision elsewhere in the country with a financial penalty for doing so, potentially impacting viability for other infrastructure provisions. Doing nothing would also mean that the Council could not charge a fee and therefore recover its costs for the monitoring of BNG in connection with planning permissions and this would therefore be a financial burden for the Council.   b)      In respect of habitat banks the Council could apply to Defra to become a ‘responsible body’, for the purpose of entering into conservation covenants with habitat bank providers instead of or in addition to S106 Agreements. Being able to offer both conservation covenants and S106 Agreements would give habitat bank providers a second legal agreement option, however conservation covenants are a new and untested legal mechanism in relation to BNG, and would likely require additional legal input and resources.