Blackpool LPA BNG
Discover key habitats, BNG requirements, and planning guidance for developers in Blackpool LPA Local Planning Authority.
.avif)
Trusted by Developers and Landowners
Biodiversity Net Gain in Blackpool LPA Local Planning Authority
Blackpool, situated on the Fylde Coast in North West England, is a unitary authority and one of the UK’s most densely populated seaside towns. Covering just 35 square kilometres, Blackpool is predominantly urban in character but contains important green and blue infrastructure, including coastal dunes, urban parks, and remnants of wetland habitat. Its landscape and ecological potential are shaped by its proximity to the Irish Sea and low-lying Fylde Plain.
Blackpool Council is committed to delivering Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) in accordance with the Environment Act 2021, requiring developers to achieve at least a 10% increase in biodiversity value on applicable schemes. This may be delivered through on-site habitat creation and enhancement, or through approved off-site units within or beyond the borough. The Council is embedding BNG into its Local Plan policies and regeneration strategies to ensure development supports ecological networks, climate resilience, and access to nature.
The borough is located within the Lancashire and Amounderness Plain National Character Area, which includes coastal marshes, sand dunes, drainage ditches, and lowland pastures. Although highly urbanised, Blackpool’s natural assets—particularly in its southern and coastal zones—offer opportunities for biodiversity improvements, especially when integrated into urban regeneration and green infrastructure projects.
To support developers, landowners, and stakeholders, Blackpool Council promotes early consideration of BNG through baseline assessments, use of the statutory biodiversity metric, and exploration of local and regional offset opportunities.
Habitats in Blackpool LPA Local Planning Authority
.avif)
Despite its compact and urban setting, Blackpool supports a number of valuable habitat types, particularly along the coast and within designated open spaces.
Coastal and Dune Habitats
Sand dunes at the southern edge of the borough, near Starr Gate and Squires Gate, form part of the wider Fylde coastal dune system and support rare plants and invertebrates.
Maritime grassland and strandline vegetation are present along the upper beach and dune margins.
The adjacent saltmarsh and intertidal flats (just outside the LPA boundary) are functionally linked and critical for bird populations.
Grassland Habitats
Improved and amenity grassland is dominant in urban parks, school grounds, and recreational fields, often low in biodiversity but suitable for enhancement.
Pockets of semi-improved grassland occur in places like Marton Mere LNR and along road verges.
Opportunities exist for wildflower meadow creation in underused green spaces.
Wetland and Watercourse Habitats
Marton Mere, a designated SSSI and Local Nature Reserve, is Blackpool’s key wetland site, supporting reedbeds, open water, and marshy grassland.
Urban drainage ditches, especially on the town’s eastern edge, connect into wider wetland systems.
Ponds and SuDS features can be found in some newer developments and public open spaces.
Woodland and Scrub Habitats
Woodland is limited in extent but includes broadleaved plantation and scattered trees in parks, cemeteries, and golf courses.
Scrub habitats are present in unmanaged corners of public land and on brownfield sites, often forming part of urban wildlife corridors.
Brownfield and Urban Habitats
Disused and underutilised land, including former rail lines and industrial plots, support open mosaic habitat, particularly in south and east Blackpool.
Urban gardens, street trees, and pocket greenspaces provide fragmented but valuable ecological functions.
Hedgerows and Linear Features
Hedgerows are scarce in the urban core but more common on the borough’s fringes and along roadways.
Green corridors such as Yeadon Way and footpaths around Marton Mere support linear connectivity.
Blackpool LPA BNG Planning
BNG delivery in Blackpool should focus on protecting and enhancing high distinctiveness habitats such as sand dunes, coastal grasslands, and wetlands at Marton Mere. These areas are ecologically valuable but often sensitive, requiring appropriate ecological mitigation and management.
In urban areas, BNG can be effectively delivered through the enhancement of lower distinctiveness habitats, such as amenity grassland, urban drainage features, and disused brownfield land. Suitable interventions include the creation of wildflower verges, rain gardens, green roofs, reedbed construction, and pond installation. Green infrastructure projects and public realm improvements offer further scope for integrating biodiversity gains with recreational and climate adaptation goals.
Blackpool
Bispham
Cleveleys
Fleetwood
Lytham
Poulton-le-Fylde
Get notified of a scheme
We do not currently have any schemes covering this LPA.
Get notified when a scheme is available in this area.
Discover Schemes in
Blackpool LPA
LPA
Restoring ecosystems and creating sustainable habitats
through BNG and nutrient mitigation.
Shavington Estate
Shavington Estate
Hurst Farm
Hurst Farm
Essex BNG at Priors Farm
Essex BNG at Priors Farm
Somerset BNG Scheme
Trinity Farm & Eastcombe Fields
Tees Nutrient Mitigation
Tees Nutrient Mitigation Scheme
.jpg)
Wiltshire BNG at Lydeway
Land at Lydeway
.jpg)
Herefordshire BNG at Hampton Wafre
Hampton Wafre Farm
Are you looking to start a BNG scheme?
Talk to Greenshank and explore the opportunities we offer through your land.
Latest News
A step-by-step guide for landowners looking to sell their land as BNG units, and how Greenshank can help at every stage of the process.
.webp)
Find out how biodiversity net gain legislation works under the Environment Act 2021, what it requires, and which developments are exempt.
Find out how nutrient mitigation schemes work for landowners, how nutrient credits are generated, and how to combine nutrient and BNG income.