The UK commitment to halt overall loss of biodiversity by 2020 in line with the European Biodiversity Strategy and UN Aichi targets, is passed down to local authorities to implement, mainly through planning policy. To assist organizations affected by these commitments, BSI has published BS 42020 Biodiversity: Code of Practice for Planning and Development which offers a coherent methodology for biodiversity management.
Along with a streamlined UK National Planning Policy Framework, which supersedes much of the previously-published guidance around biodiversity, BS 42020 will play a vital role in helping protect and enhance UK biodiversity.
High-quality ecological information is important for:
- Effective decision-making
- Compliance with statutory obligations and policy requirements
- Achievement of desired outcomes
- Successful implementation of practical conservation and enhancement measures during development.
This British Standard therefore seeks to promote transparency and consistency in the quality and appropriateness of ecological information submitted with planning applications and applications for other regulatory approvals. It is intended to assist those concerned with ecological issues as they arise through the planning process and in matters relating to consented development and activities involved in the management and use of land outside the scope of land use planning, which could have site specific ecological implications.
The standard provides:
- Guidance on how to produce clear and concise ecological information to accompany planning applications
- Recommendations on professional ethics, conduct, competence and judgement to give confidence that proposals for biodiversity conservation, and consequent decisions/actions taken, are sound and appropriate
- Direction on effective decision-making in biodiversity management
- A framework to demonstrate how biodiversity has been managed during the development process to minimize impact.
It is applicable to professionals working in the fields of ecology, land use planning, land management, architecture, civil engineering, landscape architecture, forestry, arboriculture, surveying, building and construction.
Introduction
1 Scope
2 Normative references
3 Terms and definitions
4 Professional practice for biodiversity conservation
5 Design considerations for biodiversity
6 Pre-application
7 Validation and registration of a planning application
8 Decision-making
9 Determination and issue of planning permission
10 Implementation of development: biodiversity on construction sites
11 Post-development: land management and performance review
Annexes
Bibliography
List of figures