New investment will secure 30 years of habitat enhancement in Hinckley & Bosworth

The Borough Council has agreed to establish parts of the popular nature site as a Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) habitat bank.

The move will improve biodiversity in the area and generate income to help towards the costs of providing sustainable habitat improvements at Burbage Common and Woods as well as other countryside sites for at least 30 years.

The additional revenue will also help Burbage Common and Woods cope with increasing visitor pressures.

BNG is a legal requirement that means when developers build something, they must leave nature better off than it was before. This is like a savings account, but instead of money it stores ‘biodiversity units’ created by improving nature. Developers who can’t achieve their required BNG on their own land can buy these units from landowners who are on the BNG sites register.

Cllr Lynda Hodgkins, Executive Member for Parks and Open Spaces, said: “I am proud that we are among the first council in the area to be taking such an important step.

“We are securing the future of Burbage Common and ensuring that it can flourish for at least the next three decades.

“This move is also attracting welcome investment into Hinckley and Bosworth. The money will be reinvested into our green spaces and help to reduce the council tax burden on residents who rightly expect these sites to be looked after to the highest standards.

“It’s important to note that, despite the fact developers will ‘buy’ these biodiversity units, the land remains the property of the Borough Council for the use of everyone exactly as it is now, and the council will carry out the improvement works.”

Cllr Stuart Bray, Leader of the Borough Council, added: “For a number of years the Borough Council fought tooth and nail to protect Burbage Common from the threat of a massive rail freight depot on land adjacent. This further shows our commitment to safeguard and enhance Burbage Common for future generations and increase wildlife and biodiversity in the area.”

The Borough Council now has a 30‑year Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan setting out the work needed to deliver the required 10% biodiversity gain.

The next step is to formally partner with a responsible body and agree a conservation covenant, which will set out the improvement works and how progress will be independently monitored over the coming decades.

Caroline Roffey, Assistant Director for Streetscene Services at the Borough Council, said: “This covenant is really important. It sets the expectations for the next 30 years and ensures that an independent body will regularly check our progress so we can demonstrate the 10% boost in biodiversity we’ve committed to.”

Once the covenant is in place later this year, the Borough Council can register its biodiversity units with Natural England, so developers can purchase them. These units – not the land – are what developers buy, and the Borough Council will continue to own and manage Burbage Common.