Biodiversity Duty Report January 2026 - Enforcing BNG in the planning system
Walsall Council meets the mandatory requirements required for BNG and see its commencement. As such 2 approved applications have seen their biodiversity gain plans discharged within the reporting period.
We have used our development Management software (APAS) and a third-party software (Mycelia – Verna) to track the BNG information in our planning system, with additional information inputted manually, where required. The data has been provided in tables below. No Irreplaceable habitat was impacted.
| Consented applications requiring net gains | Number | Proportion (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Total number of biodiversity gain plans approved in the reporting period | 2 | - |
| Total number of biodiversity gain plans approved in the reporting period securing BNG through on-site units only | 1 | 50.00 |
| Total number of biodiversity gain plans approved in the reporting period securing BNG through off-site units only | 0 | 0.00 |
| Total number of biodiversity gain plans approved in the reporting period securing BNG through statutory credits only | 0 | 0.00 |
| Total number of biodiversity gain plans approved in the reporting period securing BNG through a combination of on-site and off-site units | 0 | 0.00 |
| Total number of biodiversity gain plans approved in the reporting period securing BNG through a combination of on-site units and statutory credits | 1 | 50.00 |
| Total number of biodiversity gain plans approved in the reporting period securing BNG through a combination of off-site units and statutory credits | 0 | 0.00 |
| Total number of biodiversity gain plans approved in the reporting period securing BNG through a combination of on-site, off-site units and statutory credits | 0 | 0.00 |
| Overall expected gains and losses | Area habitat | Hedgerow | Watercourse |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of pre-development biodiversity units approved on-site | 11.29 | 1.90 | 0.00 |
| Total number of post-development biodiversity units approved on-site | 12.29 | 2.10 | 0.00 |
| Total net unit change in biodiversity units, on-site | 1.00 | 0.20 | 0.00 |
| Average percentage (%) change in biodiversity units, on-site | 8.86 | 10.50 | 0.00 |
| Total number of baseline biodiversity units approved off-site | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Total number of post-intervention biodiversity units approved off-site | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Total net unit change in biodiversity units, off-site | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Average percentage (%) change in biodiversity units, off-site | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Total number of biodiversity units offset using statutory credits | 0.18 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Total net unit change in biodiversity units (including any units offset using credits) | 1.18 | 0.20 | 0.00 |
| Average percentage (%) change (including statutory credits) | 10.43 | 10.50 | 0.00 |
| Location of off-site biodiversity units | Total | Proportion (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Number of off-site biodiversity units located inside LPA boundary or NCA of impact site | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Number of off-site biodiversity units located outside LPA or NCA of impact site, but in neighbouring LPA or NCA | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Number of off-site biodiversity units located outside of LPA or NCA of impact site and neighbouring LPA or NCA | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Habitat Type - Area | Total biodiversity units at baseline | Total hectares at baseline | Total biodiversity units post - development | Total hectares post - development | Net change in biodiversity units | Net change in hectares |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cropland | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Grassland | 10.88 | 5.44 | 11.65 | 4.80 | 0.77 | -0.64 |
| Heathland and shrub | 0.20 | 0.05 | 0.36 | 0.05 | 0.16 | 0.00 |
| Lakes | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Sparsely vegetated land | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Urban | 0.02 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.72 | -0.01 | 0.64 |
| Wetland | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Woodland and forest | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Watercourse footprint | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Individual trees | 0.18 | 0.02 | 0.26 | 0.09 | 0.08 | 0.07 |
| Total | 11.29 | 5.59 | 12.29 | 5.66 | 1.00 | 0.06 |
n.b. Coastal habitats were removed as there are none in the Walsall Borough.
| Habitat type - hedgerows and lines of trees | Total biodiversity units at baseline | Total kilometres at baseline | Total biodiversity units post - development | Total kilometres post - development | Net change in biodiversity units | Net change in kilometres |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species-rich native hedgerow with trees - associated with bank or ditch | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Species-rich native hedgerow with trees | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Species-rich native hedgerow - associated with bank or ditch | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Native hedgerow with trees - associated with bank or ditch | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Species-rich native hedgerow | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.12 | 0.02 | 0.12 | 0.02 |
| Native hedgerow - associated with bank or ditch | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Native hedgerow with trees | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Ecologically valuable line of trees | 1.88 | 0.47 | 1.95 | 0.47 | 0.07 | 0.00 |
| Ecologically valuable line of trees - associated with bank or ditch | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Native hedgerow | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Line of trees | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Line of trees - associated with bank or ditch | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Non-native and ornamental hedgerow | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Total | 1.90 | 0.49 | 2.10 | 0.51 | 0.20 | 0.02 |