What is BNG?
BNG is a regulatory approach to new housing, commercial and infrastructure developments with the aim to improve the habitat for wildlife. It ensures that developments have a measurably positive impact (‘net gain’) on biodiversity, in comparison to what was in existence before that development. The net gain being at least a 10% increase in biodiversity.
BNG is mandatory pursuant to Schedule 7A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as inserted by Schedule 14 of the Environment Act 2021).
If you’re one of the following, you will need to understand the requirements of BNG going forward:
- A developer
- A local planning authority
- A land manager wanting to sell in the BNG market
How is biodiversity calculated?
Biodiversity gains and losses for BNG are measured in the standardised “biodiversity units” using the Statutory Metric developed by Natural England. The metric is designed to compare the existing baseline condition of the site with the proposed post-development condition. It will measure how many units the existing baseline condition is worth (the ‘pre-development value’) and then calculate how many units are required to replace the units of habitat lost due to the new development to then achieve an increase of 10% BNG.
You should consider consulting an ecologist when measuring biodiversity value.
What are the effects of the regulation?
Developers will experience the biggest impact in respect of the new regulations. Any planning permission made on or after 12 February 2024 for major sites will have a BNG condition imposed on the planning permission. Where the site is considered a “small site”, the regulations took effect as of 2 April 2024. This means the applicant will need to submit a biodiversity gain plan with their planning application for the local planning authority (LPA) to approve. This plan will outline how the developer will meet the BNG requirement for that development site. The plan must show diversity net gain of at least 10% between the “pre-development biodiversity value of on-site habitats” and “biodiversity value attributable to the development”. Developments cannot commence until this plan has been approved by the LPA.
Where a planning permission is granted for new housing, commercial and infrastructure developments, they will be subject to the condition that the development must deliver at least a 10% increase in biodiversity. The condition cannot be removed, modified or disapplied.
There are some developments that will be exempt from the mandatory BNG requirements. These include:
- Permitted development (small changes to homes in unprotected areas)
- Marine development
- Urgent Crown development
- Developments below the threshold (that impact less than 25 square metres of on-site habitat or 5 metres of on-site linear habitats such as hedgerows are considered below the threshold, therefore also being exempt)
- Householder applications
- Self-build and custom build applications (consist of no more than 9 dwellings, no larger than 0.5 hectares of land and in accordance with section 1(A1) of the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015)
- High speed rail transport network
- Existing planning permissions (granted before 12 February 2024)
How to achieve BNG
Biodiversity can be achieved in many ways, such as habitat enhancement and creation at the development site or in some instances through the purchase of biodiversity off-site. A developer can achieve an increase of 10% BNG through various ways in the following order:
- The developer must firstly attempt to enhance and restore biodiversity on-site (within the red line boundary of the development site plan).
- If developers cannot achieve all their BNG on-site, they can then attempt to deliver this through a mixture of on-site and off-site enhancement. Developers can either make off-site biodiversity gains on their own land outside the development site or buy off-site biodiversity units on the market.
- If developers cannot achieve on-site or off-site BNG, they must buy statutory biodiversity credits from the Government. This should be a last resort. The government will use the revenue to invest in habitat creation in England.
In terms of off-site measures, the Environment Act 2021 introduced what is known as “biodiversity gain sites”. This is a national register for landowners to sign up to for the purpose of registering their land. Once the landowner has enhanced that land up to a certain standard, that land will then become of certain value by way of “biodiversity units”. Developers will be able to purchase the said units to the necessary value to secure the required 10% BNG.
If you have any questions regarding Biodiversity Net Gain or require advice on any commercial property matters, please contact our Commercial Property department at Rothera Bray on 03456 465 465 or by email to enquiries@rotherabray.co.uk
Disclaimer: This blog is for information only and does not constitute legal advice. If you need legal advice please contact us on 03456 465 465 or email enquiries@rotherabray.co.uk to get tailored advice specific to your circumstances from our qualified lawyers.
