This guide was written in 2005 and as such, some of it is now out of date. It is however still a useful document for developers to consider the importance of biodiversity in new developments and is available on request from our contact centre.
A new Green Infrastructure Guide is being written focussing on sustainable solutions in urban developments for the future. This will cover green and blue infrastructure in the urban setting with the themes of urban greening, integrating green and blue infrastructure into new developments, active travel corridors and urban to rural links.
A downloadable version of this will be available for summer 2021.
Why considering biodiversity is good for your development
- Reduces delays in the planning process
- Gives positive public relations through media coverage
- Improves ratings under the Business in the Environment (BiE) and FTSE4Good indexes
- Raises your EcoHome and BRE's Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) ratings
- Increases your company's Corporate Social Responsibility rating
- Helps toward industry GreenLeaf awards
- Exceeds industry Environmental Performance Indicators (EPI)
Steps to take to incorporate biodiversity into developments
The Developer's Guide to Biodiversity contains advice that is still relevant today and is available on request from the Contact Centre.
The below points outline the steps that should be taken. The guidance goes into much more detail.
- Pre-application discussions
- Survey
- Protect
- Mitigate and enhance
- Compensate
- Monitoring and management
The guidance also contains useful information about:
- Legislation and guidance
- Site designations
- Useful organisations and contacts
- Useful publications
