By Mervyn Brown

The latest changes to planning regulation on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) should be established as an absolute minimum across the Borough.

We should emphatically require rigid compliance with this regulation and ensure that the benefit is applied locally for the benefit of local communities. Far too often have we seen developers ‘offsetting’ their commitments to Section 106 obligations with resulting benefits being accrued remote from developments.  Our understanding is that there already exist huge banks of underproductive land held for potential offsetting. Many of which are away from our local communities.  

Examples on our Doorstep 

The development of the Toton & Chetwyn site ought to be an exemplar – demonstrating what can be achieved by bringing biodiversity back into the suburban/urban environment – bringing nature and wildlife back to where people live and work, rather than investing it in some dubious but convenient scheme in some obscure field, forest, or lake miles away from the people who will ultimately have to foot the bill. My understanding is that the East Midlands Development Corporation are onboard with their description the “Attenborough Great Park”  https://www.emdevco.co.uk . Additionally, I hear that plans are afoot to develop wildlife and nature walk corridors linking heritage sites across substantial areas of the Borough. These are to be welcomed and applauded.

Practices to Avoid

Post-War farmland sequestered for military use was expected to be returned to the famers, too often this was not the case and quality agricultural land is now used commercially. 

Currently, solar farms are too often being sited on good quality food producing land, reducing the UK ability to grow its own food. It’s my belief that ‘Solar Farms’ farms should only be allowed on existing brown field sites or non-food producing, marginal or waste land.

My understanding is that current law provides for such sites to become ‘Brown Field’ at the point they are no longer required, are none-viable. This has the potential to open significant scars across our rural map, potentially permanently reducing food production.

Every Little Helps

There are opportunities here for Broxtowe to establish exemplar policies including smaller scale projects. In addition to Biodiversity, Beeston Civic Society has for some time campaigned for provision for wildlife including birds, bats, mammals such ans hedgehogs, and invertebrates to also be conditions of planning; written into council policies. These could include boxes and bricks for swifts, bats, bees and the like – as well as other habitats.

Electric cars and bikes are increasingly popular, consequently the council should make provision for charging points to be incorporated in all developments.  

Additionally, the council could make advice about ‘greening’ readily available; with schemes for Rain Water Harvesting, Green Roofs, and Living Walls (avoiding north facing walls). Design ideas for small projects like storage sheds, flat roofs, and bin stores can conglomerate to have significant impact. 

Time to be Outstanding

It is now down to Broxtowe planners to set clear objectives, to establish exemplary policies, to make sure they hold developers to account – to make sure they deliver here on our doorstep for our benefit within the communities that councillors aim to serve.  

Broxtowe should adopt a minimum Net Biodiversity Gain of 20%, applied locally for local benefit. This policy would dovetail neatly into the existing ambitious plans Broxtowe has for Net Zero / Biodiversity.