Biodiversity Net Gain
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is an approach to development, land and marine management that leaves biodiversity in a measurably better state than before development took place.
BNG is legally required by the Environment Act 2021 and is implemented by Schedule 7a of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
Major applications submitted from 12 February 2024 and small sites submitted from 2 April 2024 must deliver at least 10 percent BNG and this must be secured for a minimum of 30 years.
Guidance on exemptions from the requirement is provided on the Biodiversity Net Gain: Exempt Developments page of GOV.UK.
Government guidance on Biodiversity Net Gain for developers and land managers is available on the GOV.UK page Understanding Biodiversity Net Gain.
Biodiversity Net Gain does not replace or reduce existing protection for protected sites, habitats and species.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the London Plan and Havering Local Plan policies to protect and enhance the natural environment still apply to all development.
The mitigation hierarchy is set out in the NPPF and requires development to avoid and minimise impacts on biodiversity, and provide mitigation and compensation for harm that cannot be avoided.
Biodiversity Net Gain is applied in addition to any mitigation and compensation proposed under the mitigation hierarchy.
National validation requirements
Where development would be subject to the general biodiversity gain condition, the application must be accompanied by the minimum information set out in Article 7 of The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015.
The minimum information requirements are set out on the Government Guidance: Biodiversity net gain GOV.UK webpage (Paragraph: 011) and our Validation Checklist 004.
If the minimum information is not submitted the application will be invalid and returned.
The requirements include a completed Statutory Biodiversity Metric Statutory biodiversity metric tools and guides.
The metric should be completed by a competent person, such as a qualified ecologist, with specialist knowledge of habitats and their assessment.
You can find an ecology consultant on the CIEEM website.
For small sites, applicants may use the Small Sites Metric (SSM) instead of the Statutory Biodiversity Metric, if the development proposal meets the criteria for small sites as defined in the GOV.UK Small Sites Metric (SSM) - Statutory Biodiversity Metric guidance.