BNG For The Benefit Of Mr Kite

(plus other species obviously, yes including the beetles)

The post that follows is just really an excuse for the title. Its initial title was going to be The Unbearable Lightness Of BNG, but that didn’t quite fit – for one thing the biodiversity net gain arrangements that we now have in draft are certainly not light.

So what do we now have? At this government page we have the following documents, all dated 29 November 2023, save where indicated:

What biodiversity net gain is:

• Understanding biodiversity net gain

Land manager guidance:

• Meet your BNG requirements: steps to take for land managers

• Sell biodiversity units as a land manager

• Combining environmental payments: biodiversity net gain (BNG) and nutrient mitigation

Developer guidance:

• Meet biodiversity net gain requirements: steps for developers

• Make on-site biodiversity gains as a developer

• Make off-site biodiversity gains as a developer

• Statutory biodiversity credits

• Statutory biodiversity credit prices

• Submit a biodiversity gain plan

• Biodiversity gain plan

• Biodiversity net gain: exempt developments

Local planning authority guidance:

• Biodiversity net gain: what local planning authorities should do (1 December 2023)

Calculate a biodiversity value:

• Calculate biodiversity using the biodiversity metric

• Statutory biodiversity metric tools and guides

Legal agreements:

• Legal agreements to secure your biodiversity net gain (1 December 2023)

Habitat management and monitoring plans:

• Creating a habitat management and monitoring plan for biodiversity net gain 

Planning practice guidance:

• Draft biodiversity net gain planning practice guidance

We also have four separate sets of draft Regulations:

• The Biodiversity Gain (Town and Country Planning) (Modifications and Amendments) (England) Regulations 2024
• The Biodiversity Gain Site Register Regulations 2024
• The Biodiversity Gain Requirements (Exemptions) Regulations 2024
• The Biodiversity Gain Requirements (Irreplaceable Habitat) Regulations 2024

There is also some useful Planning Advisory Service guidance, Biodiversity Net Gain in Development Management , including examples of developer guidance, planning conditions and section 106 clauses and template agreements.

My previous criticism of the slight delay that there has been in publishing all of this, ahead of the regime taking effect in January 2024 (April 2024 for small sites and November 2025 for NSIPs), was perhaps a little harsh…

Having skimmed only much of this documentation, what have I picked up?

Some exemptions:

(a) small developments where an application for planning permission is made or has been granted before April 2024,

(b) developments with no impact on priority habitat and where impacts on other habitat fall below specified thresholds (namely less than 25 square metres of habitat that has biodiversity value greater than zero and less than 5 metres in length of linear habitat),

(c) householder applications,

(d) HS2,

(e) off-site gain developments i.e. developments which fulfil the biodiversity net gain requirement arising in relation to another development, and

(f) certain self-build and custom build developments.

Detailed provisions about phased developments.

The regime will not catch section 73 applications where the parent permission predates the coming into effect of the regime.

“Irreplaceable habitats” (which are not included in this regime – ie you cannot simply quantify the value of their loss and show a 10% net gain overall) are defined as including ancient woodlands and ancient/veteran trees.

Much detail as to how the register to be maintained by Natural England will operate.

Still no news as to which will be the “responsible bodies” with which owners will be able to enter into conservation covenants.

A solid step forward for the environment or just another technocratic “price of everything/value of nothing” system? Time will tell, but for now, in the words of Catriona Riddell’s least favourite band …

Let It BNG! This bird has flown. We can work it out. Strawberry fields forever.

Simon Ricketts, 2 December 2023

Personal views, et cetera

Red kite, courtesy of Wikipedia. (Where I live in west Hertfordshire, kites are these days such a common – and wonderful – sight).