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All landowners will be aware that the ‘greening’ agenda is here to stay, and most would agree with the objective of environmental protection. However, with businesses to run there is concern about what this will mean for farming-derived incomes.
For some, it is possible that increased pressure for development may offer part of the solution. The Environment Bill (now at final amendment) seeks to introduce a requirement for 10% biodiversity net gain to be delivered by all development. Not a problem on brownfield sites but potentially difficult on many greenfield sites.
In many cases, those wishing to develop will only have limited land available to them and may not be able to reach 10% gain onsite, requiring other solutions. One solution would be to buy additional land, but this may not be possible. A second solution could be to enter into an agreement with a landowner to deliver and manage the gain on an alternative site.
As the Bill is not yet enacted, there remains uncertainty about how a market will establish itself, but it is clear there is likely to be an opportunity for landowners to capitalise on existing land ownerships.
Until it is clear how this situation will evolve, it is suggested that landowners who may consider making land available for net gain measures contact Stags Planning and Development department to be kept updated. Please contact Alister Smith via email at planning@stags.co.uk or 01392 439046.
