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Network Rail has acquired 65 biodiversity units from Cambridgeshire County Council to facilitate the delivery of a new railway station in South Cambridge at Lower Valley Farm in England. One of the largest of its kind in the UK, the 354-acre site is being transformed from arable farmland into biodiverse habitats that will eventually provide a home for species of conservation concern such as the Yellowhammer and Corn Bunting.

Delivered in partnership with property consultancy Bidwells, which has been appointed to manage the scheme over the next five years, Lower Valley Farm has been developed to coincide with the introduction of new regulations in January 2024 that will require all developments – whether housing, commercial or infrastructure projects – to produce a biodiversity net gain of at least 10% if they are to be granted planning permission.

What biodiversity net gain is

Biodiversity net gain (BNG) is a way of creating and improving natural habitats. BNG makes sure development has a measurably positive impact (‘net gain’) on biodiversity, compared to what was there before development. 

In England, biodiversity net gain (BNG) is becoming mandatory [next month].

Developers must deliver a biodiversity net gain of 10%. This means a development will result in more or better quality natural habitat than there was before development.

Measuring biodiversity 

For the purposes of BNG, biodiversity is measured in standardised biodiversity units.

A habitat will contain a number of biodiversity units, depending on things like its: 

•     size 
  
•     quality 
  
•     location  
  
•     type

Biodiversity units can be lost through development or generated through work to create and enhance habitats.

Calculating the units

There is a statutory (official) biodiversity metric, which is a way of measuring:

    how many units a habitat contains before development 
    how many units are needed to replace the units of habitat lost and to achieve 10% BNG

But what about the newts?

I suspect single-species requirements will continue as now - this is about biodiversity, and one species can't be biodiverse.

But if you've got a newt you are worried about, I suppose you can try to enter it into the Statutory biodiversity metric (for which you'll also need a qualified ecologist) or, if appropriate, the Small sites metric (statutory biodiversity metric).

Diversity adds to a richness of variety and should be celebrated; it prevents all eggs being placed in one basket and if that basket should fail for the dominant species, the whole balance could be knocked.  For that reason, we should be encouraging our train operator to retain class 57, 150, 156, 158, 165, 166, 230, 387, 800, 802, and Castle, and perhaps looking to add representatives from classes such as 139, 153, 159, 168, 180 and 801, with others coming on board too as they are manufactured.   I rather suspect that this scenario would create a nightmare for maintenance, staff qualification and control teams!

For that reason, we should be enouraging our train operator to retain class 57, 150, 158, 165, 166, 230, 387, 800, 802, and Castle, and perhaps looking to add representatives from classes such as 139, 153, 156, 159, 168, 180 and 801, with others coming on board too as they are manufactured.

If you’re looking for something to buy with your Xmas book token, and you already own enough railway books, you could consider ‘Wilding’ by the wonderfully nominatively deterministical Isabella Tree. Well worth a read if you’re interested in an alternative angle on conservation.