Habitat Bank UK – How our team can assist
Habitat Bank UK is a pioneering initiative dedicated to the preservation and restoration of natural habitats across the United Kingdom. Established in response to the growing concern over biodiversity loss and the need for sustainable development, habitat banking represents a transformative approach to conservation and land management.
Habitat banking is a conservation tool that allows developers to compensate for unavoidable impacts on habitats by creating or preserving habitat elsewhere. It operates through the creation of credits, which represent a certain amount of habitat. Developers can purchase credits to offset the impacts of their projects on natural areas.
The goal of habitat banking is to conserve and manage habitats and ecosystems in a sustainable manner. This should be alongside opportunities for economic growth and development. This approach helps improve biodiversity net gain (BNG) and ecological functions whilst mitigating any negative environmental impacts a development may have.
Why is habitat banking required?
Habitat banking is often required by local authorities as a means of compensating for the loss of natural habitats due to development. By requiring habitat banking, local planning authorities aim to ensure that development projects do not negatively impact the environment. This will also contribute to the long term preservation of natural resources for future generations.
These requirements are often requested as part of planning applications to obtain planning permission for proposed developments. As a result, using habitat banking methods can help to meet these requirements.
Biodiversity net gain will soon become mandatory as a result of The Environment Act 2021. Therefore, this approach acknowledges the importance of mitigating the negative impacts of human development on ecosystems and species to ensure that the delivery of BNG is maintained for at least 30 years.
How can Collington Winter assist?
At Collington Winter, our ecologists have the knowledge and experience necessary to assist developers in meeting biodiversity net gain requirements. Our team can assess your development site to determine which habitat bank UK methods would be suitable. We can also help to create habitat banking management plans.
Our Ecology Director, Olivia Collington, holds a Natural England license. If you would like to find out more about the services we provide, feel free to contact us using the details below.
Contact Us
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23 Bark Street East, 1st Floor, Bolton, BL1 2BQ
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Future Business Centre, Cambridge Campus, Kings Hedges Road, Cambridge, CB4 2HY
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Head Office: 01204 939 608
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