AND JUST LIKE THAT, BNG HAS OFFICIALLY ARRIVED
Kathryn Brown
Feb, 12 2024 3 min readIntroduced into the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 by the Environment Act 2021, as from 12th February 2024 planning permission will be subject to delivering at least a 10% increase in biodiversity on a site, in relation to the pre-development biodiversity value, unless one of the exemptions apply.
The statutory biodiversity metric, which replaces Biodiversity Metric 4.0, is used to calculate the pre-development and post-development biodiversity value of the development’s onsite habitat, as well as the value for any offsite biodiversity gains and biodiversity credits. It uses habitat information to generate “biodiversity units”, a proxy measure for biodiversity value. The statutory biodiversity metric data value inputs include habitat type, size, distinctiveness, condition, and its location.
It has been confirmed that biodiversity net gain is to be a pre-commencement condition: once planning permission has been granted, a Biodiversity Gain Plan must be submitted and approved by the planning authority before commencement of the development.
However, developers will have to submit a baseline assessment and basic information about fulfilling BNG as part of their planning application, requiring developers to consider delivery from the outset of the project.
With the BNG hierarchy preferring onsite gains over offsite or statutory credits, developers should be seeking to deliver their BNG as part of their developments before looking elsewhere. The regulations confirm that green infrastructure, sustainable drainage and providing mitigation or compensation for protected species or sites, such as nutrient neutrality, can contribute towards BNG, however, 10% of BNG should be from other activities like habitat creation.
For some sites, onsite delivery of the full BNG will not be possible, so a combination of onsite, offsite and, potentially, statutory credits could be used.
Across the planning, development, and land consultancy disciplines of Ceres Property, we can not only help design BNG into projects and identify and secure offsite units, we can also help navigate planning conditions, S106 agreements and conservation covenants. Furthermore, our partnership with Ceres Rural provides access to a network of landowners across the country which can be utilised to create bespoke BNG solutions. Alternatively, we can broker ‘off-the-shelf’ purchasers to help meet a BNG requirement. This puts Ceres Group in a unique position to be able to provide a true 360 degree service offer.
But even with BNG now firmly established, our understanding it that many people – both landowners and developers – remain somewhat confused by the detail of the policy – what it means for them, how they need to start. That’s also where we can help. So, whether you’re ready to craft your first BNG project, or you’re simply feeling unclear on this government strategy, we’re here to guide you.
For more information or assistance, contact Kathryn Brown on 07543 507774, or email land@ceresproperty.co.uk.
