Issue - meetings
Biodiversity Duty Report 2026
Meeting: 17/02/2026 - Cabinet (Item 25)
25 BIODIVERSITY DUTY REPORT 2026 
PDF 128 KB
REPORT OF THE POLICY AND COMMUNITY MANAGER
In accordance with the Biodiversity Duty (Environment Act 2021), Local Authorities and Local Planning Authorities must publish a biodiversity report. The report documents the policies and actions the council has carried out to comply with the Biodiversity Duty.
Additional documents:
Decision:
RESOLVED: That Cabinet noted the contents of the Biodiversity Duty Report 2026 at Appendix A and approve its publication on the council’s website.
REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure the council is compliant with the Biodiversity Duty (Environment Act 2021) and its requirement to publish a biodiversity duty report within twelve weeks of the reporting period end date. The end date of the first reporting period must be no later than 1 January 2026.
Minutes:
Audio recording – 12 minutes 28 seconds
Councillor Daniel Allen, as Executive Member for Governance, presented the report entitled ‘Biodiversity Duty Report 2026’ and advised that:
· In accordance with the Biodiversity Duty (Environment Act of 2021), local authorities and local planning authorities must publish a biodiversity report.
· The strengthened Biodiversity Duty required public authorities to consider what could be done to conserve and enhance biodiversity.
· To ensure that the Council was compliant it needed to publish a Biodiversity Duty Report within 12 weeks of the reporting period end date.
· The end of the first reporting period could be no later than 1 January 2026. The first Biodiversity Duty Report was attached in Appendix A.
· Under the Biodiversity Duty, the Council was required to reconsider the biodiversity actions every five years.
In response to a question from Councillor Laura Williams, the Policy and Strategy Team Leader advised that:
· Reporting would be provided by monitoring and feedback however some actions were more measurable than others.
· Member would be kept updated by the quarterly report presented to the Political Liaison Board.
The following Members took part in the debate:
· Councillor Daniel Allen
· Councillor Sean Nolan
Points raised during the debate included:
· As the Council had declared both an ecological and climate emergency, the Biodiversity Duty would help to ensure a fairer, greener North Hertfordshire.
· It was good to see in the report the many biodiversity actions the Council had been working on, including the bee corridor project.
Councillor Daniel Allen proposed and Councillor Donna Wright seconded and, following a vote, it was:
RESOLVED: That Cabinet noted the contents of the Biodiversity Duty Report 2026 at Appendix A and approve its publication on the council’s website.
REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure the council is compliant with the Biodiversity Duty (Environment Act 2021) and its requirement to publish a biodiversity duty report within twelve weeks of the reporting period end date. The end date of the first reporting period must be no later than 1 January 2026.