Decision

A legal agreement (Section 106 or Conservation Covenant) was previously signed to secure a habitat bank for the purposes of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), enabling the habitat bank and the Biodiversity Units generated to be added to Natural England’s Biodiversity Gain Sites Register. The Register allows Biodiversity Units to be available to allocate to developments, providing off-site units located within the Basildon Borough at “Land at Bowers Marsh (Pylon Field)”. Upon RSPB registering the site with Natural England, some variations are required to the S106, namely:

1. Clause 1.1(e) - Amend the maintenance obligation so that the Biodiversity Gain Land is maintained for at least 30 years from completion of the Habitat Creation and Enhancement Works, rather than from the Commencement Date. This change is required because the current drafting starts the 30-year period before the habitat creation works have been completed. If, for example, the habitat creation works took two years to complete, only 28 years of management would remain after completion, meaning the agreement would not secure the minimum 30-year management period required by Regulation 6(3) of the Biodiversity Gain Site Register Regulations 2024.
2. For clause 1.1(b) - Amend the obligation to refer to Habitat Creation and Enhancement Works instead of the Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan. This change is required because the current wording refers to the management document rather than the physical habitat creation works that are intended to commence within the specified period. The amendment corrects the defined term so the obligation reflects the intended sequence of habitat creation followed by long-term management and monitoring.