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ARTICLE · 11 SEPTEMBER 2026

Infrastructure Planning Blog 66: Full BNG For NSIPs Guidance Published

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New government guidance clarifies how biodiversity net gain requirements will apply to nationally significant infrastructure projects from November 2026. The mandatory 10% habitat replacement obligation introduces complex planning considerations including baseline calculations, biodiversity gain plans, and coordination across multiple approval bodies.

United KingdomEnvironment
Angus Walker
Angus Walker

This week's entry focuses on the full guidance document as to how to deal with biodiversity net gain (BNG) when applying for a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP), which was published on 26 August.

The mandatory obligation to replace any lost habitat with at least 10% more new habitat will apply to all NSIP applications made from 2 November 2026, less than two months away now. The same exemptions apply as to town and country planning applications but almost every NSIP will be above the thresholds. Not every one, perhaps, e.g. if a capacity cap was being lifted without any development occurring then that might be exempt yet still amount to an NSIP.

Anyway, the new guidance document can be found here, and it's a whopper - if printed, it would be 11 pages long.

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