Gaining Guidance On BNG

1 New guidance

As we discussed in our Autumn briefing here, the Environment Act 2021 amended planning legislation (from a date to be set by law, but now known to be January 2024) to require certain planning permissions in England to be subject to a new pre-commencement condition requiring a biodiversity gain plan for the development. The condition will require the developer to submit and have approved the plan which demonstrates how a 10% gain in biodiversity value will be achieved. Note that 10% is the statutory minimum – many local planning authorities ("LPAs") will set higher targets.

Biodiversity net gain ("BNG") represents a significant new requirement and there have been concerns amongst developers and LPAs alike about how the current planning system will cope. With that in mind, some of the common questions have been addressed with the publication by DEFRA, on 29 November, of some new guidance alongside draft regulations.