News & Views

It is likely that delivery of biodiversity net gain will be made mandatory in England, meaning that developments will need to use a metric to measure the extent of net gain required. It is not yet certain, however, how biodiversity net gain will be delivered. Given the need to provide additional land, the use of conservation covenants may become key to the delivery mechanism. Developers need to understand and contribute to developing this mechanism in order to achieve a practical and sustainable outcome.
08 March, 2019
Steve Betts, BSG Ecology Partner, led a biodiversity offsetting and net gain seminar to a large audience of developers and planning consultants in Newcastle on 27 February 2019. A key aim of the session was to share learning and promote good practice. The session set out a brief history of biodiversity offsetting and net gain in England and provided an overview of planning policy, which currently varies both locally and nationally.
28 February, 2019
BSG Ecology is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Roger Buisson as Director of Ecology in our Cambridge office. Roger has over thirty years of applied professional experience, and has spent significant time working in both consultancy and nature conservation organisations. He has particular expertise in both Habitats Regulations Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment, and considerable experience of Public Inquiries and Hearings. He has broad sector experience and specialist knowledge of ornithology, habitat creation and management.
28 February, 2019
As many of our ecologists are actively working towards bat survey licences or assist in bat survey work, we run in-house training to address typical gaps in their knowledge and experience. The training also helps ensure that our bat fieldwork is of a very high standard, and our commercial work is robust. The latest of these training events was a two day course held in our Oxford office in February 2019.
22 February, 2019
BSG Ecology is delighted to be able to offer support to clients who are looking to undertake BREEAM Ecology assessments using the New Construction 2018 Guidance. Although the 2018 guidance has taken some time to filter into common usage (as many well established projects have been able to work to 2014 guidance), we have now had the opportunity to apply the 2018 Land Use and Ecology criteria to a number of projects in both England and Wales.
30 January, 2019
One of our recent projects involved the provision of ecological advice in relation to the restoration of land within and adjacent to a former clay pit in the south-east of England. Ground-nesting birds were a key potential constraint to the restoration of the site. All wild birds, their eggs and nests are afforded protection by law; the mosaic of habitats within the site was considered capable of supporting a range of breeding species.
21 January, 2019
We are regularly approached by students and recent graduates keen to understand the skills they need to pursue a career in consultancy work. The following short article summarises, from our perspective, areas in which some basic experience is likely to be advantageous in securing an ecologist (entry-level) position.
15 January, 2019
On 8 January 2019 Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) published “Bats and Onshore Wind Turbines: Survey, Assessment and Mitigation.” This is now the industry standard, and formally replaces Natural England’s TIN 051 and Chapter 10 of the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) Guidance (Hundt, 2012). It is endorsed by all the statutory nature conservation stakeholders and by BCT. This article provides an initial review of the changes in survey and monitoring the guidance brings, and comments on the implications of these for developers.
10 January, 2019
Bird ringing has been conducted at Oxwich Marsh by Gower Ringing Group since February 2013. This is co-ordinated by Owain Gabb, a licensed bird ringer and trainer based in our Swansea Office. The marsh is managed by Natural Resources Wales, and habitats include open water, reed bed, wet woodland and species-rich grassland to the landward side of an extensive area of sand dunes and open sandy foreshore. The entire area is notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
09 January, 2019

An updated article on Biodiversity Net Gain - July 2019 can be found here: Biodiversity Net Gain Gathers Momentum: Implications Of Policy Changes, The Defra Metric And Consultation Response

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An article on the Environment Bill can be found here:  The Environment Bill: The Greatest Change In Biodiversity Legislation In A Generation

  This article on biodiversity and the new NPPF summarises what the guidance has to say about sustainable development and biodiversity net gain. We also look at whether we are now clearer about how net gain is to be measured, and whether we are likely to see more consistency in its application by local planning authorities and decision taking.
16 August, 2018