Plot B1, Old Road Campus, University of Oxford Biodiversity Net Gain Assessment Report
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Intended for Associated Architects LLP Date May 2021 Project Number 1620009366 Document Number 9366-RAM-XX-XX-RP-EC-10020 PLOT B1, OLD ROAD CAMPUS, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD BIODIVERSITY NET GAIN ASSESSMENT REPORT PLOT B1, OLD ROAD CAMPUS, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD BIODIVERSITY NET GAIN ASSESSMENT REPORT Project No. 1620009366 Issue No. 1 Date 04/05/2021 Made by Iain Lednor Checked by Vikki Patton Approved by Vikki Patton Document 9366-RAM-XX-XX-RP-EC-10020 Number Made by: Checked/Approved by: This report is produced by Ramboll at the request of the client for the purposes detailed herein. This report and accompanying documents are intended solely for the use and benefit of the client for this purpose only and may not be used by or disclosed to, in whole or in part, any other person without the express written consent of Ramboll. Ramboll neither owes nor accepts any duty to any third party and shall not be liable for any loss, damage or expense of whatsoever nature which is caused by their reliance on the information contained in this report. Version Control Log Revision Date Made by Checked by Approved by Description 1 04/05/2021 IL VP VP First issue to client Ramboll 240 Blackfriars Road London SE1 8NW United Kingdom T +44 20 7808 1420 www.ramboll.co.uk BIODIVERSITY NET GAIN ASSESSMENT REPORT PLOT B1, OLD ROAD CAMPUS, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Biodiversity Net Gain 1 1.3 Objectives 2 1.4 Proposed Development 2 1.5 Local Plan Policy 3 1.6 Oxfordshire County Council 3 1.7 University of Oxford Policy 4 2. METHODOLOGY 5 2.1 Desk Study 5 2.2 Baseline Biodiversity Assessment 5 2.3 Post-development Biodiversity Assessment 7 2.4 Biodiversity Metric 8 2.5 Limitations 8 3. BIODIVERSITY BASELINE 9 3.1 Desk Study 9 3.2 Habitat Survey and Condition Assessment 12 3.3 Habitat Distinctiveness, Connectivity and Strategic Significance 12 3.4 Biodiversity Baseline 13 3.5 Linear Habitats 13 3.6 Individual/Street Trees 13 4. POST-DEVELOPMENT BIODIVERSITY 14 4.1 Landscape Plan Habitat Types and UK Hab Translation 14 4.2 Habitats 14 4.3 Post-Development Biodiversity 15 4.4 Linear Habitats 16 4.5 Individual/Street Trees 16 5. CALCULATION OF BIODIVERSITY CHANGE 17 5.1 Quantitative Biodiversity Change 17 5.2 Qualitative Biodiversity Change 18 6. DISCUSSION 19 6.1 Management and Monitoring 19 6.2 Conclusion 19 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Habitats and Condition Scoring .................................................. 6 Table 3.1: Statutory Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation within 2 km of the Site .............................................................................................. 9 Table 3.2: Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation within 2 km of the Site ........................................................................................................... 10 Table 3.3: Habitat Survey and Condition Assessment……………………………………..12 Table 3.4: Habitats, Distinctiveness, Connectivity and Strategic Significance … 12 Table 3.5: Biodiversity Baseline…………………………………………………………………………13 Table 4.1: Landscape Plan Areas and UKHab Translation…………… ……..14 Table 4.2: Habitats Pre-construction, the Intervention and UKHab Translation Post-construction ………………………………..14 Table 4.3: Post Development Habitats, Habitats Action, Target Habitat Condition and BU Delivered……………………………………………………………………………..15 16200093669_Old Road Campus, Oxford University, BNG Assessment BIODIVERSITY NET GAIN ASSESSMENT REPORT PLOT B1, OLD ROAD CAMPUS, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD Table 4.4: UKHab Hedgerow Types, Length and Condition…………………………….16 Table 5.1: Baseline Biodiversity, Post-development Biodiversity and Biodiversity Change ............................................................................... 17 Table 5.2: Baseline Biodiversity, Post-development Biodiversity and Biodiversity Change per Habitat Group ..................................................... 17 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Site Location ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined. APPENDICES Appendix 1 Baseline Phase 1 Habitat map Appendix 2 Landscape Plan and Post-development plan 16200093669_Old Road Campus, Oxford University, BNG Assessment BIODIVERSITY NET GAIN ASSESSMENT REPORT i PLOT B1, OLD ROAD CAMPUS, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Ramboll UK Limited was commissioned by Associated Architects LLP to undertake a Biodiversity Net Gain Assessment of a site Plot B1, Old Road Campus, Oxford University in advance of the site’s use as office and teaching accommodation. This assessment is intended to support an outline planning application for the proposed development. The site is located at OS grid reference SP54210612, within the administrative boundary of the City of Oxford. Biodiversity Net Gain is a process whereby development leaves biodiversity in a measurably better state than before and is a planning policy requirement in England under the 2019 National Planning Policy Framework. The aim of this report is to provide the results of the Biodiversity Net Gain assessment in relation to the site including the associated construction works and landscape plans for the proposed development. This has been achieved through calculating the biodiversity change as a result of the proposed development in terms of net loss, no net loss or a net gain and including recommendations to assist the proposed development to minimise biodiversity impacts and maximise biodiversity outputs. The Biodiversity Net Gain assessment shows that with the current illustrative proposed landscape design, it is possible for the proposed development to achieve a 40.32 % net gain for area-based habitats. This is a significant net gain for the biodiversity of the site, in excess of the 5 % net gain required by the Oxford Local Plan, the 10 % required by Oxfordshire County Council, and the 20 % biodiversity target outlined by the University of Oxford for all new developments. Whilst there is a 2.27 % loss of hedgerow, this is considered to have achieved ‘no net loss’ on the basis it is between 95% and 104% of the baseline value. In addition, whilst a 0.07 km length of hedgerow will be lost, 0.03 km of native species rich hedgerow will be created post-development, improving the biodiversity of hedgerow habitat on site. 16200093669_Old Road Campus, Oxford University, BNG Assessment BIODIVERSITY NET GAIN ASSESSMENT REPORT 1 PLOT B1, OLD ROAD CAMPUS, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Ramboll UK Limited (“Ramboll”) was commissioned by Associated Architects LLP (the “Applicant”) to undertake a Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) Assessment at Plot B1, Old Road Campus, Oxford University (the "site”) in advance of the site’s potential redevelopment for use as office and teaching accommodation (the “proposed development”). The site is located at OS grid reference SP54210612, within the administrative boundary of the City of Oxford, as shown in Figure 1.1. This report should be read in conjunction with the Preliminary Ecological Appraisal carried out for the site (Document: 1620009366_2C_PEA_Old Road Campus Oxford University). This assessment is intended to support an outline planning application for the proposed development. Figure 1.1: Site Location 1.2 Biodiversity Net Gain BNG is a process whereby development leaves biodiversity in a measurably better state than before and is a policy requirement under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF; 2019)1. BNG will soon become a legal requirement in England2 with the Environment Bill (2019-2021) setting out a mandatory 10 % net gain in biodiversity for new development3. 1 Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (2019). National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Accessed from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/810197/NPPF_Feb_2019_revise d.pdf. 2 Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (2020). Environment Bill 2020: Policy Statement. Accessed from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environment-bill-2020/30-january-2020-environment-bill-2020-policy-statement. 3 Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (2020). Environment Bill 2020: Nature and conservation covenants (parts 6 and 7). Accessed from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environment-bill-2020/10-march-2020-nature-and-conservation- covenants-parts-6-and-7. 16200093669_Old Road Campus, Oxford University, BNG Assessment BIODIVERSITY NET GAIN ASSESSMENT REPORT 2 PLOT B1, OLD ROAD CAMPUS, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD The BNG process is governed by a set of UK good practice principles (2016)4 along with industry guidance which outlines the practical implementation of the principles (2019)5. The key principle is the application of a mitigation hierarchy, which sets out that development should first avoid biodiverse habitats, then mitigate/minimise impacts upon habitats, then restore/reinstate habitats. As a last resort, once the mitigation hierarchy has been maximised on-site, the project may use biodiversity offsetting to compensate for any residual biodiversity impacts due to the project. The principles require use of a metric (e.g. Natural England metric v2.0) to assess and quantify net biodiversity change. Ramboll has in-house biodiversity specialists who have worked at the forefront of BNG across the UK since 2017. Our specialists have in-depth experience of applying BNG assessments to residential, road, rail and energy infrastructure developments, using the Defra metric, Natural England metric v2.0 and client-adapted metrics. 1.3 Objectives The aim