Biodiversity Supplementary Planning Document consultation

Background

We are committed to securing improvements for biodiversity, and the Biodiversity SPD is a key action in our Ecological Emergency Action Plan. It provides guidance to support existing planning policies in the County Durham Plan. It also includes guidance on the requirement introduced by government this year (2024) for most developments to achieve a minimum 10% net gain in biodiversity.

What the SPD includes

The SPD provides detailed guidance to improve biodiversity delivery within new developments. It sets out:

• County Durham's ecological importance and the existing policy framework
• what Biodiversity Net Gain and the nature recovery network are in planning terms
• what we expect to be included and addressed within planning applications
• the information that needs to be submitted at each stage of the planning process
• how to build biodiversity into development

Read the Biodiversity SPD.

Have your say

What happens next

Responses to the consultation will be considered in the second draft of the Biodiversity SPD. We will then consult again later this year. Any final amendments to the document will be considered and justified before completion and approval. Once approved, the SPD will be adopted and will be used as part of the planning application process.