Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) Metric & Plan for Planning Conditions — UK
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG Assessment) is now compulsory for Planning Approval
The planning process now requires most new build developments to deliver 10% Net Gain for a development to be compliant for planning approval. Or your planning will be rejected.
Before you start your development, contact us to get your BNG assessment. Our BNG surveys, metric calculations and the habitat management plan ensures that your new build is compliant with planning permission laws. We make enhancements to ensure that the planning approval process is smooth and hassle free.
What Is Biodiversity Net Gain?
If you're a property developer and have been involved with discharging planning conditions, then you are probably familiar with the term Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). It is a legislative requirement across the UK by the local planning authorities to ensure that local habitat and wildlife are considered during the development process.
Introduced by the Environmental Act and called the Biodiversity Gain Condition
The local planning authorities rely on local Biodiversity data to manage the planning applications. The main objective of the planning authority is to ensure that they preserve and enhance the local biodiversity. They are able to determine this by the use of various data tools that are becoming increasingly available to them.
When Was BNG Legislation introduced?
Introduced in April 2024, all new build properties must now show a Net Gain of 10% in Biodiversity after the development is complete. This means that the local habitat and the wildlife should be enhanced, thus ensuring that local nature is left in a better state than pre-development. Furthermore, developments need to implement a maintenance plan to maintain these improvements for at least 30 years.
We Help Discharge Your Biodiversity Conditions
In order to ensure that your BNG planning conditions are successfully discharged, we conduct a detailed site assessment of the proposed development to determine the current state of nature and habitat in and around the site. This helps us set a baseline before any development work can begin.
If your site does not lend itself to onsite Biodiversity enhancements, we work with you to acquire BNG credits to achieve the requirements set out in the planning conditions.
How is 10% Gain Achieved?
When a Biodiversity survey is conducted, it checks the development land within the red line boundary to assess the various habitat and nature to give them a biodiversity unit value. A qualified person will interpret the development landscape as one or more of 132 different types of habitats. Each habitat type is given a rarity score.
In addition to the rarity, or "distinctiveness" score, the Ecologist will also assign a condition score to each type of habitat. And if the development land is determined to be in the local plan or in nature recovery strategy, it is assigned a significance of either 1, 1.5 or otherwise, just 1.
An overall unit score for the area is then calculated based on these findings. The goal is to improve the post development score by at least 10%.
Sites That Cannot Improve Their Habitat
It is not always possible to add improvements to a development land. If this is the case, then you have some other options:
- Off-site improvements: Implementing enhancements in another land that you may own
- Third-party improvements: Pay someone else to improve their habitat
- Statutory credits: Purchase from the government, which can prove to be quite costly
The ideal scenario is to identify and make onsite enhancements to avoid paying for expensive statutory credits.
How Do The Biodiversity Calculations and Metrics Work?
The value of the existing habitat is quantified by Biodiversity unit Calculations that use the statutory metric. These calculations are done to determine the resultant loss or gains from the proposed development.
30 Year Management and Monitoring Plan for BNG
In order to be compliant with planning conditions, the council will require the development to implement a 30 year management and monitoring plan to ensure that the enhancements are maintained during this period.
The planning department will expect programs that track the condition of the habitat, as well as species populations to make sure that the plan is successfully implemented. The plan will be expected to contain details of monitoring and management activities to maintain the plan.
Standards for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) Plan and Metrics
The local planning authority will expect to see evidence that any BNG compliance baseline assessment is accurate and the calculations and metrics are robust. The planning approval process will seek to ensure that the enhancement proposals are based on relevant legal frameworks.
Statutory Considerations
- The applicable Biodiversity Gain Requirements (Irreplaceable Habitat) Regulations
- Conservation Covenants
- The Environmental Act of 2021 together with secondary legislation
- Town and Country Planning Act 1990 amendments
Technical Considerations
- Guidance for Habitat creation and management
- User guidance for Statutory biodiversity metric
- Guidance for Biodiversity net gain (BNG) planning practice
- Templates for agreements and legal frameworks
Professional Considerations
- Ecological Impact Assessment Guidelines
- Biodiversity code of practice as defined in British Standards BS42020
- CIEEM - Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management guidelines
- Industry standard, professional ecological survey methodologies
How we help you develop your Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) Metric and Management Plan For Planning Approval
Our BNG assessments include the following to help you discharge planning conditions:
Complete Site Habitat Survey and Assessment
We conduct a thorough site assessment to determine the baseline habitat using the latest available statutory metrics and the relevant methodologies.
Calculations for Biodiversity Metric
We use statutory metrics for both the baseline and post development to determine the overall Biodiversity Net Gain for your project.
BNG Strategy to suit your development
Once we have conducted the calculations, we advise on the best strategies to help your meet your BNG objectives. We identify the various on site and off site considerations to help achieve the required net gain. Where required, we will advise on statutory credit options.
BNG Management Plan
We offer guidance on the relevant planning requirements and your obligations to maintain the identified net gains with a 30 year management plan to satisfy planning conditions.
Monitoring Procedures
Set up and implement schedules and plans to monitor the development of the site habitat.
Continuous Management
Continuous improvement procedures to ensure a dynamic approach by responding to monitoring data.
Our Complete BNG Service Starting From The Initial Survey to the Management Plan
We help you obtain planning approval in a simple 4 step approach
Initial Baseline Assessment
The initial baseline assessment of the site habitat, using metric calculations, mapping
Strategy Recommendations
We offer proposals to enhance the habitat with metric calculations
Management Plan
Management plan to implement procedures to monitor the enhancement for 30 years.
Submit
Submission of planning documentation for approval.
Reasons Why BNG Assessments Can Get Rejected
Common Failures
- ✗Wrong matric calculations used for the site
- ✗Unrealistic plan to manage the enhancements over 30 years
- ✗Unrealistic timescales for the creation of habitat
- ✗Incorrect baseline habitat surveys
Our Approach
- Assessments carried out to the latest requirements
- Compliance with Statutory metrics
- Realistic timescales for creation of habitat
- A well conceived and realistic management plan
Frequently Asked Questions about Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)
Are BNG assessments mandatory?
BNG assessments have now become a mandatory requirement for most new build sites in the UK that require planning permission. Some smaller sites may be exempt; contact us and we can help you determine your obligations.
What is the 10% BNG requirement?
Most development sites across the UK are now required to demonstrate that they will achieve a minimum of 10% gain in site or offsite habitat after project completion.
What is the Biodiversity management plan?
As part of the planning approval process, developers now need to implement a management plan to maintain the BNG enhancements that have been implemented. This plan should set out how the minimum 10% biodiversity improvements will be implemented for a duration of 30 years.
Who Needs to deliver BNG Off site
If your development site cannot achieve a minimum 10% net gain, then you have the option to implement BNG off site to achieve the required habitat enhancement. This can be done by habitat banking or by purchasing biodiversity credits. We can help you use the right strategies for your site.