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Biodiversity Enhancement Plan

Last updated October 29, 2026.

Local validation checklist code B19

  1. When you'll need to provide this
  2. What you'll need to include
  3. Why we need it

When you'll need to provide this

You may need to include this if you're submitting your planning application to Maidstone Borough Council.

For applications submitted to Maidstone Borough Council

Any application where there is an increase in building footprint.

Typical proposals

The biodiversity enhancement plan planning application requirement is typically needed when you're proposing to do any of the following:

Home extension or alteration

What you'll need to provide

What you'll need to include in your application

For applications submitted to Maidstone Borough Council

Details of the enhancement of biodiversity through integrated methods into the design and appearance of the extension/building/structure by means such as swift bricks, bat tubes or bee bricks, and through the provision within the site curtilage such as bird boxes, bat boxes, bug hotels, log piles, wildflower planting and hedgehog corridors.

On a scaled drawing, details of the type and number of the proposed ecological enhancements, as well as their intended positions, including, where appropriate, the appropriate height above ground level. Bird boxes should face north or east and bat boxes should face south. Where planting is proposed, supply details of the number of plants of each species as well as the intended size on planting (e.g. pot size in litres).

Some helpful advice may be found at:

https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/conservation-biodiversity/wildlife/plants-for-pollinators https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/helping-birds-and-wildlife https://www.bats.org.uk/our-work/buildings-planning-and-development/bat-boxes https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-build-hedgehog-home https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/09/how-to-build-a-bug-hotel/

Why we need you to provide this

Why we need you to include this in your application.

For applications submitted to Maidstone Borough Council

Current policy and guidance included in the Local Plan, Residential Extensions SPD and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), strongly encourage ecological enhancements as part of any proposed development and details should be submitted prior to determination.