Biodiversity Auditing

Ecology Solutions is pleased to offer an additional service in the emerging field of Biodiversity Auditing. This service provides landowners and developers with an overarching, strategic review of their landholding, with the intention of identifying opportunities to bring forward, enhance and manage land parcels as biodiversity net gain delivery sites. In turn, these parcels can then form part of off-site measures to achieve the minimum net gain of 10% for new development, as set out in the Environment Act. The process entails a walkover survey, utilising biodiversity metrics to identify the current baseline value of the habitats and, in turn, opportunities to deliver enhancements.

Whilst at present there remain uncertainties regarding the mechanism for the delivery of off-site net gain areas and indeed how the market for credit trading will work, Ecology Solutions can provide advice based on the latest legislative and planning policy positions, to ensure that landowners and developers are ‘ahead of the curve’, such that areas of land which cannot realistically be brought forward for development for various reasons can still be utilised in the most efficient manner and generate commercial returns.