Biodiversity Net Gain Guidance: How Our Team Can Help

Biodiversity net gain (BNG) will now become a mandatory point for all upcoming development projects in England as it is now a part of UK legislation. Biodiversity net gain is an approach whereby a development project considers its environmental impact in terms of biodiversity and nature recovery.

BNG aims to leave the natural environment in a better state than before the development was completed. This is possible by avoiding biodiversity loss, protecting any assets of strategic significance and retaining various habitat types. Once implemented, BNG aims to secure habitat creation and preservation for at least the next 30 years.

Biodiversity net gain is being requested more frequently by local planning authorities to inform planning applications for planning permission. The aim is to demonstrate how the proposed development will benefit biodiversity in a measurable way.

The Environment Bill was first introduced in November 2021 as it received royal assent. Therefore, BNG is due to become a legal requirement through The Environment Act 2023. The Act also includes a provision for secondary legislation. The National Planning Policy Framework also requires a net gain approach which should be achieved in a measurable manner.

Biodiversity Net Gain Guidance

If you are unsure of how mandatory biodiversity net gain might affect your planning application for planning permission, you should get in contact with your local planning authority immediately, as they can discuss your initial local plans and their BNG criteria. If they indicate that your development could be impacted, we recommend that you contact an experienced biodiversity net gain consultant as soon as possible.

BNG consultants can conduct any necessary biodiversity net gain assessments and provide further biodiversity net gain guidance. They can also discuss any potential mitigation methods you may need to take in order to meet these standards.

At Collington Winter, our team has strong experience meeting biodiversity net gain requirements and can provide biodiversity net gain guidance throughout the entire planning process. We will ensure that one of our professional BNG consultants visits your development site to create and develop any necessary biodiversity net gain plans and assessments.

Our consultants will complete a habitat classification assessment, and the data is entered into a metric to measure changes to the environment in pre and post development. This metric is currently Defra Metric 3.1. Land management plans are used to inform post development measures.