![\"Two](\"https:\/\/southwest-environmental.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/images-1.jpeg\")
Two energetic chestnut horses gallop and turn sharply through a sunlit summer pasture in France, showcasing their powerful builds as a third horse rests near the wetlands behind them.<\/p><\/div>\n
Retrospective Baseline Assessment<\/h2>\n
The site is an established equestrian area historically used for grazing, primarily consisting of modified grassland, an artificial unvegetated wood chip paddock, and native hedgerows[cite: 26, 28]. A gravel access track had been installed across part of the modified grassland without prior planning permission, necessitating a retrospective analysis[cite: 26]. In accordance with Schedule 7A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990<\/a> and statutory BNG guidance, the biodiversity baseline was established using the date of April 2025, which immediately preceded the unpermitted habitat degradation[cite: 26, 30]. By utilising historic satellite imagery alongside current site data, the pre-degradation baseline was calculated at 1.98 Habitat units and 1.20 Hedgerow units using the Statutory Biodiversity Metric 4.0[cite: 27, 35].<\/p>\n To achieve the mandatory minimum 10% net gain required for planning approval, a targeted landscape plan was developed focusing entirely on on-site interventions[cite: 27, 32, 35]. The plan mandates the enhancement of 700 square metres of modified grassland from a “Poor” condition baseline to “Moderate” condition other neutral grassland[cite: 32, 35]. This transition will be managed through a specified cutting regime and the introduction of native neutral grassland species to reduce nutrient status and competition[cite: 32]. Additionally, 70 metres of the existing native hedgerow will be enhanced from “Moderate” to “Good” condition using traditional management practices such as hedgelaying and gap planting with native species[cite: 32, 33, 35]. The strategy also includes the planting of four small native trees[cite: 33, 35].<\/p>\n The proposed habitat interventions adhere to the ten good practice principles for BNG, ensuring a measurable contribution to local ecology[cite: 31]. All new and enhanced habitats will be secured under a 30-year long-term management and monitoring plan[cite: 36]. Following the implementation of these measures, the site will deliver 2.20 Habitat units, generating an 11.31% net gain, and 1.33 Hedgerow units, generating a 10.86% net gain[cite: 35, 36]. This output completely satisfies the project’s trading rules and statutory net gain targets[cite: 35]. For further information regarding our ecological planning services, please visit Southwest Environmental Limited<\/a>.<\/p>\n Please contact us if you would like a fixed price quotation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Biodiversity Net Gain Assessment for Equestrian Development in South Gloucestershire Project Overview and Location Southwest Environmental Limited was commissioned by an individual to prepare a Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) assessment for a proposed equestrian development in Charfield, South Gloucestershire. The site falls under the jurisdiction of the Stroud District Council planning authority. The proposed development […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,122,117,75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biodiversity","category-bng-assessment","category-bristol-locations","category-ecology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwest-environmental.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwest-environmental.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwest-environmental.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwest-environmental.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwest-environmental.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/southwest-environmental.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":856,"href":"https:\/\/southwest-environmental.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854\/revisions\/856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwest-environmental.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwest-environmental.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwest-environmental.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Habitat Enhancement and Mitigation Strategy<\/h2>\n
Net Gain Achievements and Long-Term Management<\/h2>\n