The government has announced that it will draft guidance today (30/11) on the Biodiversity Net Gain rules that are set to come into effect in January 2024.
As part of its ambitious new nature package, the government also said that legislation for BNG would be laid in parliament this week. This will mean that, come January, developers will be required to use a single, standardised metric and invest in measures in their development’s local area that will increase the biodiversity by 10% to achieve planning permission.
Large sites will need to adhere to the new BNG guidance from January, while small sites will have until April to begin complying.
Chair of the Joe’s Blooms Advisory Board, Dr Robin McArthur, said: “It is great to see the government delivering on its promise to preserve England’s natural habitats. Biodiversity Net Gain will lead to the creation of more green spaces and the protection of wildlife in communities across the country. Planners and developers must use the next two months to prepare for this exciting opportunity, and digital tools like ours are ready to support them.”
Adrian Fox, senior planning manager of City & Country, commented: “Developers have known that Biodiversity Net Gain changes have been coming for some time and it is something that we at City & Country have been practising already across our developments. As a business, we absolutely see the benefit in enhancing our green spaces as people become more conscious of protecting our nature and environment. The changes signal the start for this essential legislation, but for us, this merely formalises a requirement that has been a priority for some time without official targets being in place.”
Marc Woolfe, sales and marketing director at Barratt David Wilson North Thames, said: “Since the start of the year, we have committed to delivering a 10% uplift in Biodiversity Net Gain across all our new sites, a full year ahead of the legislation. Specifically, at Kingsbrook we are working really closely with our partner, the RSBP, to deliver a showcase development that supports both nature and housing. We recognise the positive impact on both our residents and wildlife of providing habitats for a wide range of insects and birds such as bug hotels, hedgehog highways and swift bricks. The investment into biodiversity not only benefits present residents and wildlife, but also future generations to come too. Our Kingsbrook site proves that planning and nature can go in hand, and hopefully this will be a gold standard for new home developments over the next few years as BNG changes are implemented.”
