One year after Biodiversity Net Gain was introduced to ensure that new developments leave the natural environment in a better state than they found it, Wild Solutions, owned by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and the wider group of 46 Wildlife Trusts are proving that restoring nature alongside development is entirely possible.  

Since becoming mandatory, this legislation has been great news for wildlife and communities and has given us the opportunity to leverage our experts to support this new approach, while remaining true to our charitable status and strategic goals. Here our Wild Solutions team take a look back at the first 200 days of BNG.

Wild Solutions has opened a second habitat bank in the heart of the Amber Valley. The 83-acre site, known as Common Farm, will now be rewilded to create a mosaic of habitats, with the resulting Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) available for purchase now.

Following a delay to the original deadline in November 2023, Biodiversity Net-Gain becomes mandatory today (12 February 2024). In order to gain planning permission, developers are now required by law to deliver a minimum of 10% net-gain in biodiversity with newly created or enhanced habitats secured, for at least 30 years, on all new sites.

Wild Whittington, located 5km north of Chesterfield City Centre, has just become the first habitat bank in Derbyshire to be secured with a Section 106 agreement with the local planning authority (LPA), Chesterfield Borough Council.

The site is owned by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and managed by Wild Solutions, the trust’s in-house ecological consultancy and ecosystem services provider.