Key takeaways:
This research report, published during the early stages of the rollout of biodiversity net gain (BNG) in England, found that:
- Planning enforcement is fundamentally under-resourced and operates within local authority planning services which are themselves under-resourced.
- In the absence of clear and effective guidance, we found that enforcement officers understandably lacked clarity and confidence in enforcing BNG requirements.
Summary
Undertaken from late 2023 to early 2024 in parallel with the launch of BNG in England, this research project investigated how prepared planning enforcement officers were to support the implementation of BNG.
The Government noted in their response to the BNG consultation that the planning enforcement regime is expected to be the main way of enforcing the delivery of BNG. This has since been restated in the policy and guidance that now supports how BNG should operate.
Planning enforcement therefore has a key role to play in the success of BNG, covering the enforcement of delivery and maintenance of BNG for a thirty-year period for each site/agreement.
This project used a questionnaire and focus groups to gain insights from the enforcement profession, presenting the report and findings at the annual RTPI NAPE conference.
At the time of publication, this project identified that enforcement services feel poorly placed to operationalise the enforcement expectations effectively, due to challenges and questions relating to skills, processes, systems, and wider preparedness for BNG rollout.
Key recommendations:
Based on the research findings, the project report make a series of recommendations to enable planning enforcement to support the rollout of BNG.
Government:
- Clarity – to produce a BNG enforcement action plan with clarity on (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), and (7) below.
- Specificity – a process to address, through engagement with RTPI NAPE members, critical knowledge of legal requirements, which will inform (3), (4), and (5) below.
- Guidance – a need for enforcement-specific guidance, and advice on wider process requirements.
- Tools – provision of enforcement-specific materials for reference and use (templates etc) in association with (3).
- Skills Resourcing – dedicated funding from central government to provide enforcement specific training and CPD for current staff
- Resource – increased and sustained (ringfenced) funding for planning and ecology services to enable an increase in the number of posts within enforcement and ecology at each council.
- Responsibility – clarity required from government regarding liability and responsibilities, including queries relating to business insolvency, homeowners, and community organisation as to their liability. Plus, off-site and out of area / credit-based enforcement.
The diagram above shows the key recommendations that have been generated from the research
Local councils / RTPI NAPE:
- Make internal training and staffing for BNG-related work a priority where budgets allow, with a specific focus upon enforcement.
- Form and continue to use support groups between local authorities and stakeholders to share best practice.
Planning agents and developers:
- Ensure that planning agents’ and developers’ teams have knowledge and training on their requirements in this role to reduce the onus on councils.
Full reference to the report
Sheppard, A., Summers, F., Rose, A., & Britnell, S. (2024). Planning Enforcement: Biodiversity Net Gain preparedness. University of Birmingham.
Web link to research output:
NOTE: Findings and recommendations reflect the views of the researchers at the time of writing and are not necessarily the views of the RTPI.