Biodiversity Supplementary Planning Document consultation (phase 2)

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.

We initially consulted for a six week period from 3 June to 14 July this year (2024) and the document has been amended from this feedback.

What the SPD includes

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

• the existing legal and policy framework and County Durham's ecological importance
• what we expect to be included and addressed within any planning application in relation to biodiversity
• a design guide on how to build biodiversity into development
• guidance around the requirement introduced by government for most developments to achieve a minimum 10% net gain in biodiversity
• guidance on Habitat Regulations and Appropriate Assessment

Key proposed changes

You were generally supportive of the principle of the SPD. The key changes made to the SPD following the consultation are:

• a document roadmap has been added and a link to the Ecological Emergency Action Plan
• minimum dimensions have been added for gaps to allow hedgehog access
• recommendations have been added on the number of roosting/nesting features to be incorporated into new developments
• clarification has been added that when Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is delivered off-site our preference is for options that support the delivery of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy
• further information on BNG has been added, including requirements on small sites
• a sub-section on Nutrient Neutrality has been added
• minor corrections, formatting changes and points of clarification have been made

Read the amended Biodiversity SPD.

Have your say

What happens next

Responses to the consultation will be considered in drafting a final version of the SPD. Once approved, the SPD will be adopted and will be used to provide guidance to developers and to assess planning applications.