Freedom of information response

With regards to your work around biodiversity net gain, please can you tell me

1. How much you are currently charging, or plan to charge, developers for offsite biodiversity units so that they can meet their biodiversity net gain requirements

We are still awaiting further guidance from the Government in relation to the detail around the mechanism of offsite biodiversity net gain delivery. It should be noted that charging developers for offsite biodiversity units is not a requirement for the Local Authority itself, as it would be part of a commercial agreement between the applicant and whoever would be providing the off-site land for biodiversity units. Thurrock Council is still refining its approach to Biodiversity Net Gain, working closely with the Essex Local Nature Partnership on this matter. This includes exploring options for providing Council-owned land for off-site biodiversity unit provision, but no decision has yet been made as to this or the expected charge that the Council would be applying.

2. What % of biodiversity net gain you are requiring, or expect to require, from developers

Thurrock Council is continuing to refine it’s approach to Biodiversity Net Gain as we await further guidance and secondary legislation from the Government. We have not yet reached a formal decision on the % of biodiversity net gain (beyond the statutory minimum of 10%) we would expect to require from developers. However as part of our emerging Local Plan viability work we are testing different scenarios to understand potential impacts on development viability. We are working closely with the Essex Local Nature Partnership on our approach to Biodiversity Net Gain, and expect to develop and consult on a Biodiversity Net Gain SPD in the coming months. This will provide clearer expectation and guidance to developers on BNG while we await the development and adoption of our emerging new Local Plan.

You are free to use any information supplied to you for your own use, including non-commercial research purposes. However, any other type of re-use, for example, by publishing the information or issuing copies to the public will require the permission of the copyright owner.

Where the copyright is owned by Thurrock Council, you must apply to the Council to re-use the information. Please email information.matters@thurrock.gov.uk if you wish to re-use the information you have been supplied. For information where the copyright is owned by another person or organisation, you must apply to the copyright owner to obtain their permission.

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which the council have managed your FOI request you can pursue an Internal Review by contacting us using the above email address. An internal review must be submitted within 40 working days of your original reply. Your request will be considered by a senior member of the Information Management Team who will update you with the outcome of the review.

If you remain unhappy following the outcome of your Internal Review you may wish to refer your case to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and details of this organisation can be found at www.ico.org.uk . Please be advised that the ICO will not consider your case until they have confirmation that you have already been through the Internal Review stage with the council.