You will need a Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan (HMMP) if either of the following are true:
You are creating a Biodiversity Gain Site for the purpose of providing off-site Biodiversity Units to other sites; or
You are creating significant on-site enhancements.
What goes into a HMMP
A Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan (HMMP) needs to do the following:
Set out how you plan to manage the off-site gains or significant on-site enhancements, taking into account any legal restrictions and requirements. DEFRA has proposed that on-site biodiversity gains should be secured for delivery within 12 months of the development being commenced or, where not possible, before occupation
when and how you’ll monitor habitats (this will vary for different types of habitat). This part will set out how often you will submit monitoring reports (see below for more detail).
how you will maintain habitats (a useful set of resources for different types of habitat can be found here)
when and how you’ll report monitoring reports (The number of monitoring assessments will depend on the habitat type and extent, but a typical schedule for a medium sized habitat creation project might result in reports for years 2, 5, 10, 20 and 30. )
who is responsible for creating or enhancing the habitats
when and how you’ll review management proposals
how you’ll change the way you manage the habitat, so that you achieve the habitats or wider outcome
who is responsible for maintenance, management and monitoring over the next 30 years (i.e. the 30 years after the development is completed).
In addition, the Government has said that for gains that are secured with conservation covenants, it expects costs for monitoring and enforcement activities to be reflected in the price of biodiversity units.
An LPA or responsible body may have additional information that they want you to include.
While there is not an explicit requirement to legally secure other less significant on-site enhancements (such as amenity planting areas or individual street trees), suitable management arrangements should be made for these in landscaping plans as is already normal practice.
When and how should a HMMP be submitted?
A draft HMMP should be submitted with your planning application, and a full HMMP should be submitted with a biodiversity gain plan, so it accompanies your legal agreement for off-site or on-site gains, and set out how the habitats will be maintained for at least 30 years (it can either be included within the legal agreement or can be a separate document)
What are Monitoring Reports?
As a minimum, monitoring reports should include:
a summary of habitat type,
A summary of the extent
A summary of the condition (with a comparison where applicable against the expected condition proposed in the biodiversity gain plan).
Monitoring reports should be submitted to the planning authority (always), register operator (if off-site habitat is included) and the relevant responsible body (if a conservation covenant is used).
Natural England are working on a standardised process for habitat management and monitoring.
You should note that the Government is considering making biodiversity net gain monitoring information publicly accessible.
What if a HMMP is not complied with?
This may be through a requirement or incentive to share the biodiversity gain plan and monitoring report data with local environmental records centres. Greater digitisation of planning processes will increase transparency and provide opportunities to capture and share data more easily.
There isn't a mandatory format for Habitat Management and Monitoring Plans, but Natural England provides suggested templates here:
For Small Sites (coming soon)
Useful Resources