GOVERNMENT'S WARNING TO HOUSEBUILDERS ON ANTI-BIRD NETTING MEASURES: IT IS AN OFFENCE TO CAUSE UNNECESSARY SUFFERING

Birds not welcome - deterrent netting used by developer

The Government has responded to a petition which called  for an end to the practice of surrounding hedgerows or other structures with netting to prevent birds from nesting in them.

Housebuilders and other organisations sometimes use netting as a prelude to removing green habitat.

Such removal would be  illegal if birds were already nesting - hence the use of preventative netting. 

The Government response is as follows:

Causing suffering to birds is already criminal. Planning authorities have enforceable powers to protect bird habitats and will soon be able to mandate that developers provide biodiversity net gain.

Wild birds and their nests are already protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006. 

 It is an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to a bird by an act, or a failure to act, where the person concerned knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the act, or failure to act, would or be likely to cause unnecessary suffering. 

Anti-bird netting can, however, be appropriate in a few exceptional circumstances, to protect birds during construction work, or where birds have been identified as a health hazard. 

Every local authority also has power to impose conditions when it grants planning permission, and these conditions can specify what information it needs to understand and protect any wildlife on the application site, and at what time of year development may take place. 

The authority can also use planning conditions to prevent disturbance on parts of a site and stipulate how the phases of construction should be managed to avoid harm to biodiversity. 

On 8 April 2019, in response to public concern about anti-bird netting around permissioned or potential development sites, a letter from the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government was forwarded to major housebuilders. 

It reminded them of their legal obligation to consider the impact of any project on local wildlife and take precautionary action to protect habitat. 

The Secretary of State was clear that if developers do not follow their obligations, he has not ruled out further action to protect our country’s valuable ecological system. Following this, major housebuilders announced an end to the practice on their sites. 

Our National Planning Policy Framework expects planning policies and decisions to enhance the natural environment by minimising the impacts of development on, and providing net gains for, biodiversity.

We plan to require developers to deliver biodiversity net gain, under the forthcoming Environment Bill. 

Local authorities will be able to make certain that avian habitat is left in a measurably better state than it was before development.

This petition - initially  prompted by an incident in Barton-upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire - attracted more than 350,000 signatures.