Image: surveyor in forest taking a photograph.
As of 12th February 2024, virtually all new-build developments must follow the Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) plan. So, this means that if a building project requires planning permission, it has to include a biodiversity plan in its application, and the plan must show how biodiversity will be improved after the project is finished, compared to what it was like before.
What is BNG?
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is a mandatory principle that has been implemented into all development plans within the UK. In the field of environmental planning, this effectively delineates a set of steps to pursue during a project that would safeguard the area’s natural environment and drastically boost its ecological health.
Why is Biodiversity Net Gain required?
The overarching importance of BNG is impossible to ignore, with all development under the Town and Country Planning Act required to achieve it. Biodiversity confers a staggering range of ecological functions such as pollination, soil stabilisation, and climate regulation.
The goal is to make nature better in a measurable way by 2030 and this affects lots of different developers.
The UK’s 25-year plan
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is a critical mechanism that aligns with the goals of the UK’s 25-Year Environment Plan by promoting the enhancement of natural habitats and ecosystems in conjunction with development projects.
The 25-Year Environment Plan has one main goal: it aims to stop biodiversity decline and to push toward a more resilient natural space. Biodiversity Net Gain feeds directly into this aim. It’s something that we have had for years here in England, and it is closely allied with planning.
Biodiversity Net Gain requires developers to assess their projects’ biodiversity values and to implement measures that achieve a “net gain” in biodiversity. In principle and practice, this nudges the planning system and developers themselves to adopt practices where they “restore” and “create” habitats and push toward ordinance that realises the same.
Additionally, the plan underscores the necessity of ensuring that the air and water are clean, that the wildlife is healthy and thriving, and that pollution is greatly reduced—if not altogether eliminated. A case in point is the extremely successful restoration of wetlands that has occurred in one district. The reasons for doing so extend well beyond combating climate change. Restored wetlands increase biodiversity, provide essential habitat for numerous species—some of which are threatened or endangered—filter the water that flows through them, manage floods, and perform several other vital functions, including taking great quantities of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
Bringing BNG into the 25-Year Environment Plan marks a transition to land use and resource management that is more sustainable by aligning developers’ incentives with the conservation of the environment in which they are developing. Here’s how:
Thriving plants and wildlife: BNG explicitly aims to increase biodiversity, helping to create more habitats for native species to flourish. By measuring and ensuring an increase in biodiversity value after development, we promote healthier ecosystems.
Clean and plentiful water: BNG frequently entails the development or improvement of wetland habitats, which can lower the risk of flooding, improve water quality, and serve as a home for aquatic life.
Clean air: BNG’s improved green spaces can contribute to better air quality by absorbing pollutants and releasing oxygen. This is especially beneficial in urban areas.
Climate change mitigation: in order to lessen the effects of climate change, resilient, biodiverse ecosystems are crucial. Additionally, BNG projects often involve planting trees or improving forests, both of which are critical for carbon storage.
Connection with nature: by creating more biodiverse and richer environments, BNG can also help achieve the plan’s goal of promoting human-environment links to improve health and well-being.
Sustainable use of resources: the concept of “building with nature,” which encourages the use of sustainable resources and processes in development projects, is promoted by BNG principles.
Image: two surveyors in hardhats looking at landscape.
How to achieve BNG
A tool for calculating biodiversity must be included in planning applications made by developers. The development and the tool will, of course, have a much better chance of being approved if the local authority can see that the development won’t be degrading the local ecosystem.
The following steps are employed to compute whether biodiversity has sustained a net gain or a net loss:
- A field survey is undertaken to collect pre-development habitat data.
- Post-development habitat data is defined using the landscaping plans.
- Pre-development and post-development habitat data are converted into ‘biodiversity units.
- The biodiversity net gain or loss is calculated using the difference between the pre- development and post-development habitat data. It is often presented as a percentage.
- Additional biodiversity units may be added to post-development data using off-site units from habitat banks or biodiversity credits via the government.
What happens if I can’t deliver BNG on location?
Biodiversity gains are encouraged to be delivered on-site. However, when that is not attainable, there is detailed guidance to assist developers in achieving their biodiversity targets by purchasing off-site biodiversity units in a private market. This entails actual land purchase and investment, not unlike that required for conventional public-private partnerships. These arrangements must cover the costs of effective monitoring and maintenance of the habitats for a minimum of 30 years.
Potential obstacles that BNG may encounter
As a last resort, the statutory credit scheme is available to developers to ensure that the planning system doesn’t delay their projects, but developing property in the UK is about to get a lot more expensive because, to use government biodiversity credits, you will first need to demonstrate that you are unable to provide the necessary habitat enhancements on your development or via the off-site private market. The cost for doing so—with credits—ranges from £42,000 to £650,000 plus VAT per credit.
It’s vital to recognise that biodiversity net gain will have an effect on the property development process across all its stages and phases. We highly advise that you work with a consultant from early on when doing due diligence for a possible purchase. This also includes the usual financial and operational assessments and entails thinking through how to sustainably manage the habitats you’re creating over the long term, which is a 30-year plan.
Make sure to consult with highly knowledgeable professionals who specialise in conducting habitat surveys and condition assessments. Their expertise will significantly enhance your likelihood of achieving the sought-after biodiversity net gain.
Development of BNG Strategies
The results of a Biodiversity Impact Assessment will be used to develop a BNG strategy:
Impact Identification: development plans will undergo a thorough analysis that takes into account their potential effects on the biodiversity score.
Avoidance Measures: anything from changing the development structure or location to avoid high-value habitats to scheduling the work to avoid wildlife-vulnerable times could be one of the suggested avoidance techniques.
Minimisation Measures: if repercussions are unavoidable, it is your surveyor’s responsibility to find solutions to reduce any resulting damages. For instance, adding elements to your site that will permit wildlife to pass through it unhindered.
Mitigation Measures: any remaining impacts should be mitigated, meaning the improvement of the conditions of existing habitats or the creation of new ones.
Enhancement Opportunities: identifying opportunities to enhance biodiversity is probably the most important step in the entire process. This does a lot of the heavy lifting in reaching the extra 10% biodiversity you need.
Long-Term Management: the long-term management of the site to ensure that the gains in biodiversity from the enhancement are maintained over time, such as monitoring and managing the habitats in question.
Habitat Design and Creation: the previous phase’s results are collected and put into a
plan, creating a strategy to put the habitats agreed upon into action.
Planning: the planning stage involves identifying the most effective ways to enhance existing habitats or create new ones. For example, this could be identifying and choosing the best location for a new habitat.
Implementation: this stage is simply putting the plans you’ve made into action. This may
involve building ponds or wetlands or planting trees and vegetation.
Monitoring and Adjustment: following the creation of these habitats, a system must be established to guarantee that they are appropriately monitored, with an eye toward ensuring that the development maintains its 10%+ biodiversity goal; if not, provisions can be taken to ensure that it does.
How can Biodiversity Surveyors help?
Our panel of biodiversity surveyors carries out surveys and drafts plans for biodiversity net gain. That means they help private-sector businesses and developers meet the demands of local planning authorities. The team cuts out all potential delay and delivers usable services that take you all the way from the initial biodiversity impact assessment to the development of the final habitat creation plan to guarantee long-term management and ensure all appropriate stakeholders are effectively engaged. Clients are guaranteed to fulfil their obligations under biodiversity net gain, thanks to our expertise.
