5. Securing BNG
If planning permission is granted, the BNG requirements will be secured through the national statutory condition, which is set out in legislation, and will most commonly be supplemented by one of the following;
- Planning conditions - For smaller schemes with simple on-site BNG delivery.
- Section 106 legal agreements - For larger schemes or those involving off-site provision.
If BNG is proposed to be secured offsite or via the statutory credit system then this should be secured via a legal agreement.
A section 106 agreement is a legal agreement between an applicant and the local planning authority, which ensures that extra works related to a development are undertaken. A s106 agreement can be used to secure environmental improvements including the delivery of the BNG strategy. The s106 agreement should secure the Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan and include provision for a monitoring fee. The monitoring fee will be calculated to cover the costs of reviewing monitoring reports (as specified within the Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan), visiting the site during the monitoring period where necessary and to work with the BNG provider to agree remedial measures as required.