This is an incredibly ambitious policy which embeds biodiversity within the planning process with the aim to leave biodiversity in a better state post-development 🌳 🌿  However, there are certain gaps in the policy which may lead to sub-optimal outcomes for invertebrate populations… 3/

1.  Mismatch between what the statutory biodiversity metric considers to be 'good' habitat condition & the habitat conditions required by invertebrates 🐛. For example, the metric penalties on scrub, bare ground, and floral species 'indicative of sub optimal condition' 4/