Decision details

To give background on work to prepare for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and seek approval to commission work to prepare for BNG supply sites.

RESOLVED - That:
Prepare for BNG in advance - To commission Greater Manchester Environment Fund (GMEF) to undertake preparatory work to for supply sites for off-site Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). This would enable the council to take a proactive role and bring on board the necessary expertise and experience to identify the best sites in the borough to spend the financial contributions secured through BNG and, in doing so, opportunities for enhancing nature recovery. Upfront resources will be needed for this work, to prepare for BNG in advance of development contributions towards BNG starting to be collected. However, additional burdens funding for BNG has been allocated to the council which can fund this upfront work.

Option 1 - Prepare for BNG in advance - To commission Greater Manchester Environment Fund (GMEF) to undertake preparatory work to for supply sites for off-site Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). This would enable the council to take a proactive role and bring on board the necessary expertise and experience to identify the best sites in the borough to spend the financial contributions secured through BNG and, in doing so, opportunities for enhancing nature recovery. Upfront resources will be needed for this work, to prepare for BNG in advance of development contributions towards BNG starting to be collected. However, additional burdens funding for BNG has been allocated to the council which can fund this upfront work.
Option 2 - Do the minimum - To not commission the work set out under option 1 and to undertake the work as and when the developer engages at a later stage. This option may be more costly on a reactive basis and may result on off-site BNG contributions going outside the borough if there are time delays.
Option 3 - Do nothing. Leave developers to find own off site BNG solutions. This would mean that off-site delivery is unlikely to be on the council’s own land or within the district and could be anywhere across the country therefore nature recovery would not be maximised within Oldham. This would also mean officers are reacting to developments and off-site recovery needs which is more time consuming than a planned proactive approach.

options 2 and 3.

N/A. Oldham Council is working with Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Greater Manchester Ecology Unit (GMEU) to help prepare for BNG.
Please note that the map has been removed from this report due to the size. If you wish to see a copy of the map of supply sites please contact strategic planning at spi@oldham.gov.uk