Landowners tend to be savvy individuals. If you count yourself among them, you’ll understand the resounding benefits of being organised.
It’s worth remembering that though Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) will become mandatory later in the year, it’s never too early for landowners to start preparing for the regulation shift. That way, you can start preparing your sites and boosting their value. Sustainable income streams can be established this way.
So, how can landowners get ready for the mandatory biodiversity net gain requirements? Keep reading for some suggestions.
Realise What’s at Stake
You might be a productive landowner. Still, if you need an extra surge of motivation to complete your tasks early, it can be worth fully realising how you can benefit from your pre-preparedness.
For example, if you’re hoping to one day sell the land you own, starting the necessary work before mandatory BNG can increase the number of units available for sale within a few years. In some instances, they can be more than doubled. Starting early could send your prospects soaring if selling the land is what you wish to do.
You could also familiarise yourself with all the factors that make BNG important; bettering flood resistance, improving air quality, protecting habitats, promoting green infrastructure, and addressing the general climate emergency. BNG is vital, and by getting a head start on the mandatory requirements, you can do more to meet these objectives.
Researching BNG schemes is a good idea so you can fully utilise the potential of your natural capital. There are recovery programmes where farmers can harness their land for natural restoration, while private entities fund all the overheads and assume full legal liability for the developed projects.
Engage with a Consultant
Some people are experts in BNG. They can help you meet objectives long before they become mandatory.
Consultants like Arbtech explain everything you need to know about BNG, from its core principles to steps you can start taking today. Timescales are detailed along with the environmental act and the purpose behind everything. They also provide survey expertise, working rapidly and reliably with full UK coverage and providing free quotes in the process.
BNG can seem quite complex, and getting to grips with it may seem intimidating. By engaging with friendly experts, this information can be broken down into digestible chunks, and you can learn everything there is to know about BNG well before the late 2023 deadline. You can also revisit these resources if you ever need to, the encyclopaedic knowledge ever useful to learn.
Collaborating with these entities can put you into action and help you realise how proactive you can be. They also lend more credibility to your planning applications, should you wish to build on your land. Even if you don’t wish to act now, knowing these services are on hand when you need them can also be a comfort. They’re passionate about the environment and your prospects.
Undertake Metric Calculations
Metric calculations help you understand the baseline valuation of your site. Making progress early here is strongly recommended if you have aspirations for your land.
An expert ecologist and the survey crews mentioned above will typically carry out these arrangements. Still, it’s a good idea to get to grips with these things and collaborate with them quickly. With their help, you can gauge the location, size, distinctiveness, and condition of the habitats found on your sites.
The biodiversity metric should be used early on during any plan of construction. By getting ahead of these considerations, you have more means at your disposal to create a more environmentally considerate and competent design.
It’s not just about designing potential future builds, either. You can aid in nature’s recovery through these efforts after the bleak toil caused by climate change. Your findings could enhance existing habitats, create new ones, and help creatures survive and thrive. Ultimately, eco-friendly measures are more than just legislation. They’re also a moral imperative.
Tailor Planning Applications for the Future
If you’re building on the land you own, you should do so in accordance with late 2023’s rulebook rather than the existing one. Foresight counts for a great deal.
Tailoring your planning applications for the future shows that you take BNG seriously and understand how trends develop around legislation. Councils actively want to see this initiative and are far more likely to approve planning applications if they do.
It’s worth thinking about how long construction work can take, too. Will something you start to build now be finished by the time late 2023 arrives? Mandatory procedures around BNG may arrive long before project completion, so it’s logical to take them into account presently as well.
Even if your plans are very far off and uncertain, these measures are still worth considering. Careful thought goes into successful planning applications, and the sooner you knit together viable ideas, the more robust your planning application will be when formalising your approach.
Talk to Other Landowners
The responsibilities of biodiversity belong to everybody. Your endeavour shouldn’t be a solo enterprise.
Therefore, it may be a good idea to reach out to other landowners to discuss the biodiversity laws coming into effect. In Scotland, people even embrace community landownership schemes, which localise profits and allow groups to have a say in how local land is used. There can be an appealing sense of togetherness and unity in these efforts, and you could perhaps start something similar in your area if there isn’t one already.
There’s much to be learned from landowners too. How are they striving towards biodiversity net gains already? What tips and tricks might they share? Perhaps they can be found online via social media or have a dedicated blog where they share their musings as landowners. In any event, there’s much you can all learn from each other.
Of course, if you’re making measures before the mandatory biodiversity net gain requirements come into effect, there’s a good chance you might be a leader in your actions. In that situation, it’s still worth connecting with other landowners. Perhaps you could influence others to do as you are and create impactful change early in your region. Even convincing one landowner to change their ways early can make a positive difference.
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