Biodiversity Duty Report
Introduction
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Biodiversity duty
Section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (NERC) (2006) placed a requirement on every public authority to, in exercising its functions, have regard to the purpose of conserving biodiversity. This is the 'Biodiversity Duty'.
The Environment Act (2021) strengthened the Biodiversity Duty by amending the NERC Act to require all public authorities in England to consider what they can do to conserve and enhance biodiversity.
The strengthened Biodiversity Duty means that a public authority must:
- Consider what you can to conserve and enhance biodiversity
- Agree policies and specific objectives based on your consideration
- Act to deliver your policies and achieve your objectives
Local authorities must review these actions, policies, and objectives at least every five years and publish a biodiversity report setting out how the duty is being met.
Purpose of the report
The purpose of this report is to explain how Gateshead Council is meeting its enhanced biodiversity duty. It provides:
- a summary of the actions taken to comply with the biodiversity duty
- the policies and objectives agreed to conserve and enhance biodiversity
- plans for how the Council will continue to meet the duty in the next reporting period
- actions taken to meet biodiversity net gain obligations; and
- an assessment of expected biodiversity net gains arising from approved biodiversity gain plans, alongside future plans to meet these requirements
The reporting period covered by this document is 1 January 2024 to 1 January 2026.
Biodiversity in Gateshead
Biodiversity is the range of living organisms and habitats within an area, and the relationships between them, which together support environmental health, resilience and human wellbeing.
In Gateshead, biodiversity underpins the health and resilience of the borough's natural environment and provides essential ecosystem services such as clean air and water, healthy soils, pollination, climate regulation, and natural flood management.
Despite its urban and post‑industrial character, Gateshead supports a diverse and strategically important natural environment that forms part of the wider South of Tyne and Wear Local Nature Recovery Strategy area. Key assets include the River Tyne and its tributaries, woodland networks, wetlands, grasslands, coastal and estuarine habitats, as well as parks, gardens and other urban green spaces. Collectively, these habitats support a wide range of species and provide important opportunities to restore, enhance and better connect nature across the borough. (Gateshead Council, 2026a)
These natural assets play a vital role in supporting residents' physical and mental wellbeing, strengthening community resilience, and enhancing Gateshead's sense of place.
The conservation and enhancement of biodiversity is central to Thrive: our strategic approach, which sets out Gateshead Council's long-term vision to improve lives, reduce inequality and build resilient, sustainable communities. A healthy natural environment is fundamental to this vision, supporting inclusive economic growth, improving physical and mental health outcomes, and strengthening community resilience.
Biodiversity also plays a critical role in addressing climate change. Gateshead's Climate Change Strategy 2022 recognises that protecting and restoring nature is essential to both climate mitigation and adaptation, including carbon sequestration, urban cooling, and reducing flood risk. As climate change and biodiversity loss are intrinsically linked, actions to enhance nature contribute directly to the Council's ambition to reduce emissions and build climate resilience across the borough. (Gateshead Council, 2022a)
As biodiversity continues to decline nationally and globally, these benefits are increasingly at risk. As a public authority, Gateshead Council has a clear responsibility to ensure that its decisions and activities actively contribute to conserving and enhancing biodiversity. Through its policies, programmes and partnerships, the Council seeks to support nature recovery in a way that delivers lasting benefits for both people and wildlife, aligned with its wider strategic priorities.