Recommendation 147

Requiring project-level mitigation of pollutants and mandating on-site delivery of biodiversity net gain risks poorer results for residents and nature. 193 The Environment Bank is critical of the Government’s preference for onsite mitigation for biodiversity net gain. It considers that mitigation and compensation delivery within a development boundary is largely incapable of securing net positive outcomes for nature—placemaking and green space provision ought to be distinct focuses from biodiversity, and onsite mitigation should not be a substitute for quality placemaking. 194