Nature recovery
The government has committed to halting the long-term decline of the natural environment by creating and restoring habitats, increasing the abundance of species and increasing tree and woodland cover.
These goals are backed by law through the Environment Act 2021, which strengthens the duty on councils to conserve and enhance biodiversity through the planning system.
In Woking, planning policies have already shown they can make a real difference.
- Policies on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area have helped vulnerable bird species to thrive, even as the population has grown
- A pilot scheme for managing habitat for Great Crested Newts has also been a local success
A key new requirement for many developments is Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). This means that new proposals must have at least a 10% increase in the value of wildlife habitats, either on the development site or elsewhere. It should encourage:
- Development on land of lower ecological value
- Better design for nature
- Investment in off-site habitat improvements, where needed.
However, BNG doesn’t apply to all types of development (and the Government is proposing to reduce this); it won’t require enhancement where a site currently has little or no biodiversity; and it isn’t designed to protect rare species.
The Local Plan therefore has an important role to play in going further to help nature recover – even while it supports new homes, jobs, and infrastructure. A key part of this will be how we help to deliver the Surrey Nature Recovery Strategy.
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