Conservation covenants criteria announced by UK government

July 27, 2023

Conservation covenants criteria announced by UK government on 27th July 2023. Another missing part of the Biodiversity Net Gain jigsaw is found.

Yet there are still a huge number of pieces of the jigsaw still missing. Earlier today, the UK Government announced the statutory biodiversity credits price guidelines.

What are Conservation Covenants?

A conservation covenant is an agreement between a landowner and a body like a charity or public body to do or not do something on their land for a conservation purpose.

This might be, for example, an agreement to maintain woodland and allow public access to it, or to refrain from using certain pesticides on native vegetation.

These agreements are long lasting and can continue after the landowner has parted with the land, ensuring that its conservation value is protected for the public benefit.

Conservation covenants are used in many other jurisdictions, but do not exist in the law of England and Wales.

Instead, landowners and responsible bodies are relying on complex and expensive legal workarounds, or the limited number of existing statutory covenants that enable certain covenants to be enforced by specified bodies (for example, the National Trust).

Conservation covenants: here is how to apply to become a responsible body

Details

Your organisation must be a designated responsible body to create a conservation covenant with a landowner.

Your organisation may need to comply with additional requirements if you plan on entering into conservation covenant agreements for the delivery of specific schemes. For example, you may need to comply with additional requirements for future biodiversity net gain schemes or environmental land management schemes.

Who can apply

You can apply for your organisation to become a responsible body if it’s one of the following:

a local authority
a public body or charity, where at least some of its main purposes or functions relate to conservation
a body other than a public body or charity, where at least some of its main activities relate to conservation

When it comes to conservation covenants, the main purposes, functions or activities that relate to conservation are:

conservation or restoration of the natural environment and resources (or the setting of the land)
conservation of places of archaeological, architectural, artistic, cultural, or historic interest (or the setting of the land)

Criteria for being a responsible body

Your organisation will need to meet the criteria for being a responsible body.

How to apply

Download and complete the application form. Send your organisation’s application and supporting information to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) at conservation.covenants@defra.gov.uk.

You’ll need to include 2 signed declarations as part of your application.

Defra will contact you if you need to provide more information.

Outcome of your application

Defra will aim to inform you of the outcome of your organisation’s designation request within 12 weeks of receiving a correctly completed application form.

If your organisation’s application is successful, Defra will add its contact details and main areas of expertise to the list of designated responsible bodies.

If your organisation’s application is unsuccessful, you can apply again with new information.

Register a local land charge

If your organisation successfully becomes a responsible body, you’ll need to register any conservation covenants your organisation creates on the appropriate local land charges register.

Defra will send newly designated responsible bodies guidance about how to register a local land charge for their conservation covenants.

Submit an annual return

If your organisation successfully becomes a responsible body, you’ll need to submit an annual return for the conservation covenants it holds.

In the annual return, you must report on the:

total number of conservation covenants your organisation holds
the area of land covered by each conservation covenant

You can also provide additional information about your organisation’s covenants. This will help Defra evaluate whether conservation convents are an effective tool.

The additional information on your organisation’s covenants could include:

whether they are for nature or heritage conservation purposes
their location
the type of habitat they aim to maintain or enhance, if applicable
progress towards delivering conservation outcomes, highlighting any successes

Send the completed form to conservation.covenants@defra.gov.uk by 31 March each year.

Submitting an annual return does not remove your obligation to notify Defra as soon as possible if your organisation’s circumstances change and you think it no longer meets the criteria for being a responsible body. If you fail to notify Defra of any relevant change in circumstances, they may remove your organisation from the list of designated responsible bodies.