Planning & Development
The Environment Act 2021 outlines that all new developments must mitigate for loss or damage to habitat by delivering at least 10% biodiversity net gain, leaving the environment in a measurably better condition than before.
FiveRivers has been supporting developers with the delivery of environmental improvements and nature-based solutions for over 25 years. Our services include:
- Environmental and ecological monitoring (terrestrial and aquatic)
- Early Contractor Involvement (ECI)
- Outline and detailed design
- Ecological Mitigation e.g. compensatory habitat
- Habitat Translocation
- Nutrient Neutrality (NN)
- Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)
- Constructed wetlands
- Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS)
Frequent challenges faced by development include:
- The legislative framework for land management and the environment is complex and rapidly evolving. We are seeing changes to land management subsidies and the implementation of schemes such as mandatory biodiversity net gain and nutrient neutrality.
- The changing requirement for the environment and ecological habitats within developments can be difficult to understand and navigate when submitting planning and other statutory consents.
- The appreciation and valuation of our natural capital is becoming more important, and new funding streams are becoming available for delivery of nature-based solutions. Understanding what is possible and taking advantage of funding can be challenging.
- A lack of environmental and ecological understanding can often lead to a last minute rush to ensure legislative compliance, almost always increasing project costs.
FiveRivers can be your environmental business partner, with experienced environmental and ecological specialists, we can assist in driving your project forwards. the key to a successful project is to engage with us early on within the planning and development stages of your scheme.
We can support at any stage of your project, from initial scoping and base line environmental surveys through the design and construction phases, ensuring all your planning conditions are met. We can also help you navigate the rapidly evolving environmental frameworks, not just mitigating risks but also highlighting opportunities and developing suitable cost effective environmental solutions.
FiveRivers has proven results undertaking monitoring, design and construction on schemes working with Avison Young,Talyor Wimpey and Rydon Group to name a few.