This means that any application for major development will need to comply with Biodiversity Net Gain (‘BNG’) requirements from today – Monday 12th February – followed shortly thereafter by applications for smaller sites which will need to comply from April 2024. Nationally significant infrastructure projects will follow suit from November 2025.
Exemptions
Not all types of development will be required to demonstrate BNG, however, with the following types exempt:
- Householder applications
- Self-build and custom build applications of fewer than 9 dwellings on sites below 0.5 hectares.
- Development which impacts areas below a ‘de minimis’ threshold of 25 square meters of a non-priority onsite habitat or 5m of non-priority onsite linear habitats (such as native hedgerows)
- High speed rail network development
- And sites which are being developed for the purpose of fulfilling offsite BNG requirements generated by development elsewhere.
Application requirements
Applications which do not meet the exemption criteria will be required to demonstrate at least 10% Biodiversity Net Gain, as demonstrated by a Biodiversity Gain Plan. Planning applications will need to include a BNG baseline for the site, the BNG approach which will be taken throughout development and details of any off-site BNG proposals.
There are three ways in which a development can meet the required 10% BNG, which much be maintained for a minimum of 30 years:
- Through on-site measures to enhance and restore biodiversity
- Through off-site measures on land which is owned by the developer or through the use of off-site BNG units available on the commercial market
- Through the purchase of statutory BNG credits. However, this must be used only as a last resort.
Local Planning Authorities
It is important to note that Local Planning Authorities are empowered to set their own BNG targets above the nationally mandated 10%. Guildford Borough Council, for example, has adopted a requirement of 20% BNG while draft policies in emerging local plans are continuing this trend, with Tower Hamlets proposing a policy of 30% BNG for new development.
A long-awaited date
Planning Director Mel Clinton previously wrote about BNG when it was initially announced in 2021 and again in 2022. In the intervening time, the team at Nash Partnership has hit the ground running for clients in Bath and North East Somerset, where 10% BNG came into effect in January 2023.
Need to know more?
Come and talk to our planning consultants or drop us an email.