Initial notes summarising key areas of Part 3 of the bill with more to follow. Watch this space.
Part 3 may affect the delivery of Nutrient Neutrality (and other environmental policy), reducing the impact of the mitigation hierarchy with ramifications for the delivery of local environmental improvement. It does not explicitly affect the requirement for BNG.
Allows creation of various Environmental Delivery Plans (EDP) by NE for developments with:
1. Certain environmental features likely to be negatively affected by development, whether:
- protected feature of a protected site, or
- a protected species.
- address the environmental impact of development on the identified environmental feature, and
- contribute to an overall improvement in the conservation status of the identified environmental feature.
- one or more charging schedules which set out the rates or
- other criteria by reference to which the amount of nature restoration levy is to be determined.
- regulation 55 of the Habitats Regulations 2017
- section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
- or section 10 of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992
5. An EDP must set out how Natural England will monitor the effects of the EDP.
The EDP must be published by NE along with at least two reports covering the start to mid-point and then the midpoint to the end.
Before development commences, a developer may, at any time request in writing to Natural England to pay the nature restoration levy in relation to a development to which an EDP applies, upon which they will be treated as having been granted a licence under regulation 55 of the Habitats Regulations 2017, section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 or section 10 of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.
An EDP may provide that payment of the levy is mandatory on certain development sites meeting certain characteristics set out in the plan e.g. there is an impact on a protected feature of a RAMSAR or SSSI or European site.
The expected fees are to be based on actual and expected costs of the conservation measures along with actual or expected sources of funding for those conservation measures and the economic viability of development itself.
Natural England will then spend money received from the levy on conservation measures that relate to the environmental feature in relation to which the levy is charged although this may be reserved for actions already completed or even for future use.
Natural England may acquire land compulsorily if Natural England requires the land for purposes connected with the taking of a conservation measure if the Secretary of State authorises it to do so.
Key sections under part 3 of the bill:
- Sections 49 to 52 make provision about the required contents of an environmental delivery plan;
- Sections 53 to 56 make provision about the procedure for making an environmental delivery plan;
- Sections 57 to 60 make provision about reporting on, amending, revoking and challenging an environmental delivery plan.