Thank audience (Home Builders Federation) for opportunity to speak. Introduction to speaker (Mike Barker). Introduction to RPS.

Transcription

1 Thank audience (Home Builders Federation) for opportunity to speak. Introduction to speaker (Mike Barker). Introduction to RPS. 1

2 RPS Oxford, Edinburgh and London are accredited members of the IEMA Quality Mark, although this is in the process of being rolled out across wider UK offices. Key drivers for ecological assessment is legislation. In Wales, there is emerging Green Infrastructure Policy. Details on process and how offsetting and habitat banking can assist that process will be discussed in the following slides. 2

3 List of key legislation with respect to Ecology. Implications for the next two years because of uncertainty regarding Brexit. 3

4 In relation to Welsh Government, there s a range of existing legislation that drives the policy in Wales. 4

5 This is an example of Environment Wales Act. List is the same as English list at present but, with time, the list and other legislation and policy will diverge. 5

6 [Same as previous slide] 6

7 There has been a push within Welsh Government for there to be a greater coverage of infrastructure policies. Policies are influential for master planning. 7

8 Ecological Impact Assessment is part of the wider EIA process (which is multidisciplinary). For larger projects or projects in ecologically sensitive sites, Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) might also be required in addition to EIA. Although HRA is driven by EU Directives, there s no indication that we won t need to do HRA after Brexit. 8

9 Even on large projects that require EIA, the first step is a preliminary study (which can inform scoping exercises for EIA) 9

10 That scoping will usually lead to the need for additional surveys to inform ecological assessment. 10

11 edna is a new technique which is used on some projects, particularly if they are very large or have a long leading time. 11

12 Where a site has buildings or mature trees, bats are a key consideration. 12

13 On sites where there is ecological interest, dealing with these issues on site can be complicated and conflict with other project objectives. Biodiversity offsetting allows for off site compensation for ecological losses. 13

14 In principle, it s simple providing appropriate compensation at an alternative location. 14

15 It s a recognised tool through national legislation and policy, but works best where there is local policy support (e.g. supplementary planning documents on green infrastructure and biodiversity). 15

16 It allows planning authorities to demonstrate compliance with existing requirements for no net loss of biodiversity, by providing a consistent set of criteria for measuring losses and gains and therefore helps with biodiversity accounting. 16

17 For developers, there is greater clarity in terms of ecological outcomes and the associated costs. 17

18 For biodiversity, it builds in a mechanism for delivering net gain. 18

19 In terms of the mechanism for delivering offsets, the next step is habitat banks, which are set up in each local planning authority area in advance of any new development. 19

20 We are working with the Environment Bank and AB Sustain to deliver these in a number of places. 20

21 The next habitat bank to be developed will be in Warwickshire, but we re also looking for opportunities to deliver one in Wales. 21

22 This shows the broad outline of what the next habitat bank will look like, include and yield. The expectation is that the credits associated with each bank will sell out within 3 5 years. The locations of the banks will tie in with the local green infrastructure context to maximise biodiversity gain. 22

23 Here is a case study of a land holding that could become a bank, where the credits are generated by enhancing the ecological value of the existing habitats. 23

24 This is the first of two development examples. Here, much of the biodiversity was retained on site, with enhancements to existing habitats so the requirements for credits was minimised. 24

25 In this example, this wasn't possible because of the existing ecological value of the grassland that covered almost all of the site. In the end, it s not possible to develop this site without providing some off site compensation. Biodiversity offsets provides that mechanism. 25

26 In summary, although it s been a bit slow, the introduction of the habitat banking process should speed up and simplify offsetting. This should make the process of EIA and planning less uncertain. 26

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