Part 6: Nature and Biodiversity Section 100: Biodiversity gain site register
Subsections (1) to (3) make provisions for a public biodiversity gains sites register. They define some of the eligibility criteria for land to be included on the register, including that it must be maintained for at least 30 years after the completion of enhancement works, and set out how the benefits of habitat on the register might be allocated to a development. The register is intended to provide transparency in offsite enhancements for developers, planning authorities and others, and to help parties to confirm that any offsite biodiversity gains are only allocated to a single development and that the necessary agreements to deliver biodiversity gains are in place. The intention is that the register will also facilitate monitoring of biodiversity gain delivery and its outcomes by indicating what outcomes are expected where.
	Subsections (4) to (6) set out what regulations under this section are likely to provide for, including details of the procedure for registering land in the biodiversity gains site register, the criteria that must be satisfied for the enhancement of land to be registered, and the arrangements for amending or removing land on the register. Subsection (5) also allows provisions under subsection (4)(c) to guide the process of making and determining applications to register land as biodiversity gain sites and to provide for financial penalties that could be incurred by providing false or misleading information when registering a biodiversity gain site. Subsection (6) sets out further information requirements which will be fundamental to the register, such as the location and area of land and who will be responsible for carrying out the works to enhance biodiversity. Subsection (6) also explicitly references the allocation of biodiversity enhancement to a particular development, which will be important in preventing the ‘double-counting’ of a given enhancement (or the units that it creates).
	Subsection (7) allows the Secretary of State to change the minimum time for which biodiversity gains must be secured. This may not be changed to a period of less than 30 years, which is the initial duration specified in the Act’s provisions. The power applies to off-site biodiversity gain site enhancements. Schedule 14 paragraph 9 of this Act creates a similar power to increase the minimum period with respect to secured on-site habitat enhancements.
	Subsection (9) sets a duty on the Secretary of State to keep under review the supply of off-site biodiversity gains and whether the minimum duration (of 30 years) can be increased without adversely affecting that supply. This is intended to encourage increases to the minimum duration provided that the Secretary of State is confident that the increase will not stifle the supply of biodiversity enhancements and therefore risk undermining the market for biodiversity gains and ability to deliver gains in appropriate locations for wildlife. Changes made to the minimum duration would apply to all new allocated biodiversity gain sites or biodiversity gain plans submitted for approval, but would not retrospectively change the terms of existing site agreements (for example, existing conservation covenants or planning obligations attached to approved biodiversity gain plans).
	Subsections (8) to (11) set out procedures for making these regulations, and align definitions of some terms with those set out in Schedule 7A to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.