Purpose

The report will set out the basis of a grant offer made by DEFRA and to recommend the grant be accepted. The offer is a section 31 grant to be spent in the financial year 2024/25 on new burdens arising from the introduction of mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) in Feb-Apr 2024.
The council has a statutory obligation towards BNG. This burdens grant is offered to all English Local Planning Authorities in 2024/25.

Decision

That the Corporate Director of Community Development accepts the direct award of a statutory Section 31 Grant of £231,116 offered by Defra to support the council’s ongoing work on mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain.

Reasons for the decision

Accepting this grant offer will help council budgets by allowing us to claim up to £231,116 in arrears for additional staff or other costs of introducing BNG.

Alternative options considered

The only alternative is not to accept the direct award grant and would mean the authority has to bear the cost of BNG itself.