Agenda item

To consider the report of the Director of Place, Planning and Growth, (copy enclosed).

The Committee considered the report the Director of Place, Planning and Growth seeking Members’ approval of the 2026 Maldon District Biodiversity Duty report (BDR) (attached as Appendix 1 to the report) and prepared to comply with duties in the Environment Act 2021 (the Act).

It was noted that the Act introduced a requirement for Local Authorities to publish a BDR, including information on the outcomes of the mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) regime delivered through the planning system. Further details of the requirements of the Act were set out in the report. The Council’s first BDR had been approved by this Committee on 18 June 2024. The 2026 report covered the period 2 January 2024 to 1 January 2026 and summarised the Council’s biodiversity-related policies and actions along with proposed future actions and reported on Biodiversity Net Gain Plans approved through the planning process.

The Chairperson welcomed the Principal Policy Planner to the meeting and deferred to her. The Principal Policy Planner then introduced the report and took Members through the BDR which had been structured into three sections.

During the debate that ensued and in response to questions raised by Members, the following information was provided:

·                The work done by the voluntary service was highlighted and it was questioned whether this information was monitored. Members were advised that this information was not captured by the BDR, as this only reported on Maldon District Council owned land and the requirement under BDR was to report on the Council’s own actions.

·                BNG had its own monitoring regime, but no habitat improvement was being reported at this time due to the newness of the system. The Council, however, would be monitoring this.

·                The future installation of a butterfly green roof at Riverside Park, Burnham-on-Crouch referred to a green roof planted to encourage butterflies and their caterpillars. This would be installed and managed by the Council’s Parks Team. The Chairperson asked to be notified once this was operational.

·                The replacement of lawns with wildflower mixes was raised and in response the Officer explained the difficulty in managing the 28 areas of the Council’s land assets for biodiversity because of their multi-functional nature. The report highlighted the work being undertaken by the Parks team, which included work to rewild certain areas and mowing paths through meadows. The Chairperson asked that biodiversity within the Council’s land asset areas be looked at and in response Members were advised that their comments would be taken back to the relevant team for consideration.

·                The Officer provided some further details regarding habitat banks and the benefit of having them throughout the District. It was noted that these were landowner led, a commercial enterprise between them and the developers, with developers buying BNG habitat units that the Habitat Banks grow / manage. They are registered nationally and monitored through that.

The Chairperson moved the recommendation set out in the report. This was duly seconded and agreed.

RESOLVED that the 2026 Maldon District Biodiversity Duty Report (Appendix 1 to the report) be approved.