How can we stop the '£100m bat tunnel' becoming the next culture war? What steps need to be taken to ensure that development and nature genuinely work together? How can we get the right balance of 'on-site' mitigation of environmental harm and 'off-site' strategic nature recovery from Biodiversity Net Gain and other environmental requirements for developers?

This event will see our expert panel explore these questions and more, considering recent government policy announcements and their implications for the sector.

This event is part of the 2025 BNG in Practice event series from the Institution of Environmental Sciences (the IES) and the Association of Local Government Ecologists (ALGE).

Our speakers

Debbie Tan, MBE, CEO of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust

Debbie began her career in the early 1990s as an ecologist specialising in freshwater habitats. She has worked in a variety of roles within the Wildlife Trusts, including Head of Conservation and Deputy CEO before becoming Chief Executive at HIWWT in 2008. Alongside her day job, Debbie has served on a number of Committees, Boards and advisory groups over the past 25 years including 6 years on the South East Committee for the Heritage Lottery Fund where she was the key expert advising on grants for natural heritage, and 3 years on the Board of the Wessex Rivers Trust. In 2010/11, Debbie was seconded into Defra for 11 months to help write the Natural Environment White Paper which put into Government policy the ground-breaking recommendations of the Lawton Report, ‘Making Space for Nature’. Debbie was awarded an MBE in the 2024 King’s New Year Honours for services to wildlife and the natural environment and was listed in the 2025 ENDS Power List as one of the UK’s 100 most influential environmental professionals.

Alex Hutchinson, Senior Public Affairs and Communications Officer, Aldersgate Group

Alex is a Senior Public Affairs and Communications Officer at the Aldersgate Group, a cross-economy membership organisation focused on accelerating the UK’s transition towards a competitive, resource efficient and net zero emissions economy. Alex supports the Aldersgate Group's strategic communications efforts to disseminate and promote the Group's work amongst various audiences. He also leads on aspects of the Secretariat's work on decarbonising the built environment, transport, and agriculture. Before joining the Aldersgate Group, Alex has held a number of roles in the corporate sector, both at energy companies and engineering and environmental professional services consultancies.

Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy and Market Insight, NFB & HBA

Head of Policy and Market Insight, Rico Wojtulewicz has been the National Federation of Builders' (NFB) and House Builders Association (HBA) policy mainstay for more than a decade. As one of the most experienced industry voices he sits on industry and government working groups and boards, such as the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), Future Homes Hub and Heritage Alliance, and is across all manner of topics including Net Zero, skills, planning, industrial strategy, retrofit and procurement. He has a special interest in Biodiversity Net Gain, having been on various working groups during its inception, speaking to the parliamentary committee scrutinising the Environment Bill and writing guidance and recommendations for future BNG tweaks and reforms.

David Lowe, Service Manager, Ecology, Historic Environment & Landscape, Warwickshire County Council

David Lowe, BSc (Hons), MCIEEM is the Service Manager for Ecology, Historic Environment & Landscape at WCC having been at the Council since 2004. His team comprises 15 ecological, five historic environment and two landscape officers whose remit is to protect, restore and enhance Warwickshire's natural and historic environments. David was instrumental in WCC’s participation in the Defra biodiversity trial, which was the foundation for today’s BNG policy.

Sebastian Ellis, Ecologist, Biofarm
Biofarm offers a complete off-site BNG service for developers and landowners, ensuring real benefits to nature are delivered beyond just numbers in a metric, and de-risking the BNG delivery process for developers. Sebastian works as an ecologist on all elements of off-site BNG including undertaking site surveys, advising landowners and developers, and creating habitat management and monitoring plans. Previously he has worked in the Environmental Consulting industry, with experience on development projects ranging from householder applications through to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.