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Biodiversity Duty for Parish Councils

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Biodiversity refers to the variety of living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi. 

Under the Environment Act 2021, public authorities in England, including parish and town councils, must consider what they can do to conserve and enhance biodiversity. This is known as the ‘biodiversity duty’. 

The duty requires public authorities to: 

  • consider what they can do to conserve and enhance biodiversity
  • agree policies and specific objectives based on their consideration 
  • act to deliver their policies and achieve their objectives 

Following first consideration, parish councils must agree policies and objectives as soon as possible after 1 January 2024. They must also reconsider the actions they are taking, at least every 5 years. 

Impact on parish councils  

There is no requirement for parish and town councils to publish reports on their progress against their agreed objectives.  

The duty requires parish and town councils to agree specific policies and objectives to conserve and enhance biodiversity. So, it would be good practice to record your consideration of your biodiversity duty and the objectives and actions to be taken. These objectives and actions could be written in a biodiversity policy document. This will help to show that the council is complying with the duty and will make reviewing your actions easier in the future. 

If the town or parish council already has a document that sets out its climate change, environmental or biodiversity aims, then another document might not be needed. However, it may need updating to include any new policies and actions considered as part of the biodiversity duty. 

Benefits of the biodiversity duty 

The duty should not be seen as a burden, it is an exciting opportunity to rethink how we work and how we manage land. By supporting the natural environment, towns and parishes are not just helping to conserve biodiversity but will also be improving the sustainability and quality of life in their communities.  

Carrying out your biodiversity duty also demonstrates your commitment to nature and biodiversity, and the inclusion of parish and town councils within the biodiversity duty highlights the important role they play in nature recovery and in wider local and national government projects.  

Potential actions  

Every parish and town is different, so there is no standard list of actions to undertake. Below are some suggestions you might want to incorporate into policies and objectives as part of your biodiversity duty.  

  • Consider biodiversity when managing your land and buildings. Areas to consider might include mowing (timing and frequency), use of wildflowers, tree works and tree planting, bird nests / bat roosts, use of herbicide / pesticides. 
  • Include biodiversity policies in your Community Led Plans / Neighbourhood Plans. 
  • Include biodiversity in your responses when you are commenting on planning applications. 
  • Consider how you can promote biodiversity in any community engagement you carry out. 
  • Consider biodiversity needs if you are creating any bylaws 
  • Carry out an audit or survey of key species and habitats in the parish - this could be presented in a Parish Map or a Biodiversity Action Plan and used for planning. 
  • Promote your policies on your web page and social media. This can encourage participation and may generate local interest and involvement from residents, giving further support for your policies.  

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