Executive Summary and Download
Download the Biodiversity Report
You can find our Biodiversity Report 2026 on these pages.
You can also Download a PDF version of the Biodiversity Report 2026.
Executive Summary
The Environment Act (2021) strengthens the Biodiversity Duty of all public authorities, by placing a responsibility to enhance, as well as protect biodiversity in actions and decision making.
The strengthened Biodiversity Duty indicates that as a local authority Oxford City Council must:
- Consider what it can do to conserve and enhance biodiversity.
- Agree policies and specific objectives based on its consideration.
- Act to deliver biodiversity policies and achieve objectives.
The Duty was also amended to require local authorities to publish a Biodiversity Report by the end of March 2026 (See Guidance: Reporting Your Biodiversity Duty Actions on GOV.UK), which should set out biodiversity policies and actions carried out to comply with the Biodiversity Duty between 1 January 2023 to 1 January 2026.
The contents of this report set out Oxford City Council’s actions to protect and enhance biodiversity to date (1 January 2026). The report also documents implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain across the city since its introduction in 2024. Finally, this first Biodiversity Report sets out a framework for a future Strategy; with policies and objectives following as soon as possible during 2026. The principal vehicles for this will be the new Local Plan and developing Biodiversity Strategy (which is planned to be commenced during 2026).
