The BNG onion…

In a previous role I dealt with telecoms legislation and case law. When giving presentations on the topic, I started to refer to the whole subject as an onion – when you peeled one layer off, there was another one underneath and the further on you went, the more likely it was to make you weep. I’m starting to feel that BNG is a bit the same.

Last week saw a deluge of announcements, guidance and secondary legislation as we prepare for the introduction of statutory Biodiversity Net Gain in January. So what have we learned?

1.       The guidance is more easily digestible than the draft Statutory Instruments, but the terminology used is somewhat loose in places, which may add to confusion rather than lessen it. Legislation will always override guidance so double check against the Statutory Instruments if you are not sure.

2.       BNG will take effect as a general pre-commencement planning condition, so that the developer must submit a Biodiversity Gain Plan to be approved by the Local Planning Authority before the development can commence. Where BNG is to be delivered in phases, there must be an overall plan for the whole development and then a plan for each phase.

3.       The Biodiversity Site Gain Register on which all off-site mitigation must be entered has the potential to cause delay, cost and confusion until we all get familiar with how it will work. It does now seem clear that the land itself can be registered first (provided that a s.106 agreement or conservation covenant is in place) and then the Biodiversity Units can be registered separately as they are created.

More clarity will emerge over time and with experience, but those who are getting involved will need to scrutinise the details and ensure that they understand the process as fully as possible before getting started.

We will keep peeling back the layers – but keep a hanky handy.

4th December 2023