Gladman are supportive of the overarching aim of the policy to increase biodiversity in the Greater Cambridge area but consider the minimum requirement of 20% biodiversity net gain to be excessive and above national policy requirements. The Environment Act 2021, when the legislation is enacted, will introduce a requirement for new development to deliver a 10% net gain in biodiversity.
An additional 10% BNG on top of the forthcoming national requirement could stop smaller sites that would be capable of delivering much needed homes from coming forward and may also lead to schemes which do not take account of local site densities and characteristics of the surrounding area. Any policy requirement should be fully tested and justified through a viability assessment.
It is also important that the long-term impacts are considered when reviewing proposals for BNG, accounting for the fact that many of the measures provided will need to mature beyond the build period.
Gladman support the recognition that more significant and long-lasting biodiversity benefits are often delivered off-site and the policy should be flexible enough to allow for this.
These considerations should be considered when drafting a policy with regards to achieving biodiversity net gain.