Meadgate Works, Nazeing
Turning biodiversity net gain commitments into a deliverable pre-commencement strategy
At Meadgate Works, biodiversity net gain became a practical delivery issue after planning permission had been secured.
Lignacite’s proposals involved the expansion of its established concrete-block manufacturing operation onto adjoining land at St Paul’s Field. Following refusal by Epping Forest District Council, planning permission was granted on appeal in September 2025. The appeal scheme was presented as delivering a 14.29% biodiversity net gain, with the associated unilateral undertaking requiring a Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan before development could commence.
The HMMP needed to establish how the required habitats would be created, managed and monitored over the long term and how the biodiversity commitment secured through the appeal would be delivered in practice.
During the post-permission process, a shortfall in the required habitat units was identified. This introduced an additional delivery requirement: off-site biodiversity units needed to be secured alongside the preparation and approval of the HMMP.
Maddox Planning coordinated the discharge strategy. We worked with Ecology Solutions on the technical submission, explained how the HMMP responded to the requirements of the unilateral undertaking and supplied the Council with the relevant legal and appeal documentation. We also managed the review process and advised the client on the implications for the commencement programme.
Where the remaining biodiversity requirement could not be met through the proposed habitat measures, we coordinated the evidence needed to demonstrate that the necessary off-site units had been purchased and submitted this to Epping Forest District Council.
The project illustrates how BNG obligations can extend beyond the grant of planning permission. At Meadgate Works, habitat delivery, a 30-year management and monitoring commitment, the acquisition of off-site units and ecological review by the local planning authority all became dependencies for implementation. Maddox Planning’s role was to bring those planning, ecological and legal requirements together into a coordinated route towards satisfying the pre-commencement obligation.