Oliver Bussell, a partner at CooperBurnett LLP, looks at how biodiversity net gain could affect the development of new care homes
The coming into force of the Environment Act 2021 brought about significant changes in the regulatory landscape for biodiversity in England. The effects that this will have on land development are about to be seen. The likelihood is that they will be far-reaching and developers of land, including care home operators, should take note.
It was the government’s 25-year plan on the environment for England in 2018 that first set out how the government will seek to embed a ‘net environmental gain’ principle for development. The aim being to ensure that development delivers measurable environmental improvements, locally and nationally, to enable housing and infrastructure development – but without increasing overall burdens on developers.
That may be hard to square with the considerably more ambitious terms of the Act now in force and it is worth taking a step back to contextualise net gain within the traditional planning system.
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