Enviroment | News
BNG implementation was rushed through, says NAO
A new report by the National Audit Office (NAO) says the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) launched the biodiversity net gain (BNG) scheme without having all elements in place to ensure its long-term success. The spending watchdog highlighted risks to the new policy’s future effectiveness, including concerns about local authorities being able to successfully enforce statutory BNG. NAO’s report highlights that Defra and Natural England (the non-departmental public body responsible for important elements of the policy) do not have all the relevant information they need to effectively evaluate the regime and determine whether it is a success. It also says Defra does not intend to provide central monitoring of how well onsite and offsite biodiversity gains are being enforced by local authorities. After a series of delays that caused uncertainty in the built environment sector, the government introduced BNG in February. The new rules require housing, commercial and infrastructure developments to be ‘nature positive’. This means developers in England must now deliver 10% BNG on residential projects with 10 or more dwellings, or where the site area is 0.5ha or more. The government provided either £26,807 or £43,467 to each local authority to help them prepare for each of the two years preceding the BNG launch. But data obtained by law firm BDB Pitmans through freedom of information requests showed that, as of April, just five local authorities in England had landowner S106 agreement templates for BNG sites. Rachel Danemann, regional planning manager at the Home Builders Federation (HBF) said: “The industry is committed to delivering biodiversity net gain and addressing the implementation issues the report correctly outlines, all of which we consistently highlighted to government in advance of the launch. To enable the effective delivery of BNG moving forward, government needs to be providing more guidance to local authorities, and improving the processes they are expecting all parties to navigate.”
Amanda Williams, head of environmental sustainability at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), said: “The NAO report sadly comes as no great surprise as the concerns in it were raised by stakeholders, including us at CIOB, prior to the implementation of the policy. We continue to be supportive of BNG in principle, but the introduction of a complex requirement like this requires clear timelines, with adequate funding and support, and these have been lacking throughout. “The low level of confidence held by local authorities, planners, and the construction industry about their respective roles in delivering biodiversity net gain is understandable given the limited government investment in ensuring the success of the scheme. Key to success is the right investment for preparation and monitoring and enforcing onsite gains. The skills shortage in the industry is a longstanding issue and increasing the supply of competent experts to factor biodiversity net gain into project plans, deliver it and monitor success must be a priority.”
Work starts on Salford Passivhaus scheme
Salix Homes and its partners have started work on a Passivhaus apartment scheme in Salford, the second development of its kind they have been involved with. The scheme, called Willohaus, was granted planning permission last year, and forms part of the £2.5bn Crescent Salford regeneration – a partnership between the city council, the University of Salford, and ECF (formerly the English Cities Fund). The development on Peru Street will deliver 100 one- and two-bedroom apartments, which follow the Greenhaus development, which completed last month. ECF – a public private partnership between Homes England, Legal & General, and Muse – is delivering the apartments, which will be built on a disused car park. The homes are being built by lead contractor Eric Wright Construction. Salix Homes, which owns 8,000 homes across Salford, is the housing partner for Willohaus, working alongside ECF. It secured grant funding from Homes England and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), alongside its own investment, with the new homes forming part of Salix Homes’ wider ambitions to deliver more affordable and sustainable accommodation across the city. Liam Turner, executive director of assets, growth and sustainability at Salix Homes, said: “Following on from the Greenhaus development, we’ve established a solid partnership with ECF to build more affordable homes in Salford that are high quality, cleaner and greener. Passivhaus is the gold standard for energy-efficient buildings and construction, so we’re incredibly proud to be part of another groundbreaking development that will deliver desperately needed new and affordable homes in Salford, which are better for the environment, support our carbon neutral ambitions, and help reduce fuel poverty for residents. Both Greenhaus and Willohaus represent a new era of new-build, affordable, and ecofriendly homes that are fit for the future and contribute towards the battle against climate change, while helping to tackle the housing crisis.” Joe Stockton, senior development manager for ECF, added: “We’re pleased to be continuing our partnership with Salix Homes,
(l-r) Harry Molyneux (Eric Wright), Liam Turner (Salix Homes), Jess Sharples (Eric Wright), Simon Hourihan (Muse-ECF), and Jonathan Wasp (Eric Wright)
following our success delivering lowenergy, Passivhaus-standard homes at nearby Greenhaus. What has previously been done on a relatively small-scale, we are now looking to upscale, making sustainable homes accessible and affordable for a wider range of customers. We’re looking forward to working with our partners to create a vibrant, well-connected neighbourhood at Crescent Salford, starting with our Willohaus community.” Willohaus is the first Passivhauscertified development to benefit from funding through the new ‘trailblazer’
devolution protocols, which have seen GMCA given greater powers and funding to enable more affordable net-zero homes, via the Affordable Homes Programme. Tom Stannard, Salford City Council’s chief executive, said: “It is such great news to see works starting on another eco-friendly development in our city. The incredible Passivhaus standards will see residents using much less energy and in turn paying much less for their energy bills. I’d like to thank all our partners for their hard work as we work to be a zero-carbon city by 2038.”
showhouse July 2024 |23
