New Biodiversity Net Gain Policy in England

On 12th February 2024, the government introduced a new policy in England called Biodiversity net gain (BNG).

BNG is an approach to infrastructure development which is designed to ensure that habitats for wildlife are left in a measurably better state than they were before the development.

In England, BNG is mandatory under Schedule 7A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as inserted by Schedule 14 of the Environment Act 2021).

Developers must deliver a BNG of 10%. This means a development will result in more or better quality natural habitat than there was before development.

But is this change in policy going to deliver the promised outcomes for nature?

This subject is discussed in an article in The Conversation magazine (written by academics) and the findings are not as cut and dry as you would hope.

The targets set by the government would appear to have some anomalies in how they are calculated and how the policy is enforced also raises some questions.

Read the article here and maybe let us know your thoughts on this topic in the comments below.

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Credit: photo courtesy of RobTheRunt