Technical Resources

As the Natural Environment work across the West Midlands develops, the WMCA continues to provide technical support and reports to help stakeholders to protect, restore and enhance the region's natural environment. 

Brownfield Habitats and Biodiversity Net Gain

With greater emphasis being placed on development on brownfield land there is increased risk of impacts to the Open Mosaic priority habitat type that can occur in such areas. With an understanding of the challenges of developing brownfield sites, the WMCA has developed this design guide to support stakeholders involved in urban development, and specifically brownfield sites, to ensure positive outcomes for biodiversity and delivery of high-quality habitat as part of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). This is an important piece of work, not only for the West Midlands, but for other urban areas across England, as it will help to address the need to deliver housing on brownfield sites in a more sensitive and sustainable way, creating better multi-functional green infrastructure for people and nature to benefit from.

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) Implementation Guidance

The WMCA Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) guidance is designed to provide a comprehensive guide for practitioners when implementing the BNG policy. The document has a detailed contents page that allows direct hyperlink access to the relevant chosen section.

Nature Based Sustainable Drainage

Adapting to our changing climate is becoming a major challenge and nature-based solutions can play a key role in this.  Nature-based solutions can also offer a multitude of co-benefits including flood alleviation, urban cooling, biodiversity improvements and amenity value.  Thew following report sets out the benefits of using nature-based solutions for sustainable drainage systems.

Natural capital assessment of the regions tree stock

An i-Tree Eco survey of the seven metropolitan areas of the WMCA has been undertaken. The summary of the survey can be found below and full detailed reports can be viewed here. 

State of Nature Report

This is the first report of its type for the WMCA area. It provides a detailed account of the nature across the whole region.

LINC “How To” Guides

As one of the five cohort areas in the national Local Investment in Natural Capital (LINC) programme, the WMCA worked alongside other Local and Combined Authorities, Ecorys, the Environment Agency and DEFRA to co develop a suite of six practical “How To” Guides. These guides share the collective learning from the programme and are designed to help authorities explore real, workable approaches to securing investment in natural capital.

Each guide provides actionable steps, key considerations and insights into how different investment models can be applied locally. While they are primarily aimed at Local and Combined Authorities, the guidance will also be valuable to environmental NGOs and other partners seeking practical ways to develop, fund and deliver nature-based projects.

Contact us

For any questions or queries about any of this work, please contact us at environment@wmca.org.uk