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In the summer, the Government consulted on various measures to ease the Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) ‘obligations’ (cost) on small and medium sized developers. A range of proposals were put forward for public views, as outlined in our earlier briefing on how new proposals could evolve the current BNG regime.
The Government’s consultation response was widely expected today. But recent days saw a flurry of last-minute lobbying from many people working in nature conservation and restoration, who had heard speculation that BNG requirements would be removed from developments of 0.5 hectares (ha) and below.
Why does this matter – individually these are small developments right? Well, yes, but developments of this size form the bulk of the town and country planning developments in England, and it was estimated that 97% of all planning applications would be outside the scope of the mandatory rules to increase habitats by 10% or more against a pre-development baseline. That’s potentially a lot of habitat to be lost and not improved.
However, earlier this week, the Housing Minister announced to Parliament that a lower site limit would apply – development sites under 0.2 ha would (soon) be exempt from BNG requirements.
So, is this a win for the nature lobby? Not quite.
There is still some disquiet at the exemption, and the nature lobby will follow news with interest after it was announced that further BNG consultations will be run in 2026, including in relation to a (wholly new) proposal that brownfield developments of up to 2.5 ha in size would be exempt from BNG – that’s three or four football pitches, enough to build 50 homes. In addition, the Government will be publishing a response to its consultation on BNG for nationally significant infrastructure projects, in advance of the May 2026 ‘go live’ date.
Until secondary legislation is published, the 0.2 ha exemption is, at this stage, a policy intention. For now, it’s BNG business as normal. But expect the debate to renew in the spring as we learn more about what is proposed in the definition of “brownfield”.
About the author(s)
Ben Stansfield is one the UK's leading lawyers practising planning and environmental law. Ben is based in Gowling WLG's London office and brings with him a wealth of experience advising clients on the consenting and regulation of their projects and their compliance with environmental regulations and reporting standards.
Ben Stansfield
Ben Stansfield is one the UK's leading lawyers practising planning and environmental law. Ben is based in Gowling WLG's London office and brings with him a wealth of experience advising clients on the consenting and regulation of their projects and their compliance with environmental regulations and reporting standards.