Issue - meetings

To receive the report from the Corporate Director for Planning and the Environment, Policy & Partnership Manager

The Corporate Director – Planning introduced the Biodiversity Duty report and set the context of the report.

The subsequent conversation covered the following areas.

·       The 30% target and how that will be achieved with regards to the Dorset Council

·       Nature Recovery Dorset was the mechanism for public reporting their changes in terms of nature recovery initiatives.

·       The ability to measure and nuance around measurement approaches.

·       The requirement of guidance from DEFRA before specific actions and monitoring can be initiated.

·       Water ways and water safety and the implications in planning processes to ensure safety and flood management.

·       The biodiversity duty is not the only mechanism for delivering the obligations of biodiversity.

·       The scope of the environmental improvement plan and the properties that are owned by Dorset council’s inclusion in the plan.

·       The local plan’s impact on the biodiversity duty and its role in the realisation of the targets.

·       Farming processes and the role of farms and their opportunities to be involved through partnership working.

·       Funding from local nature recovery strategies enabling the resource to fulfil the reporting requirements.

·       The reporting and monitoring processes and the importance of consideration of the slow time realisation of nature benefits.

The committee were supportive of the approach and there was recognition of the report being out of date and it was to return to the committee with the updated information early in 2026.