How is society benefitting as developers meet BNG requirements? UKREiiF 2024

Since February, UK developers have worked to meet the 10% biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirement set by the Environment Act 2021, and smaller developers began answering the mandate in April.

But is the BNG process working? Is society benefitting?

Nick White, Principal Advisor for BNG at Natural England, tackled these and other questions in a May 21 session for developers at this year’s UKREiiF conference. During the AiDash-sponsored discussion, Nick presented history, perspectives, and best practices for delivering BNG, based on his work as a government advisor to the natural environment and his work with Defra.

Here’s a look at some of the key takeaways of his conversation with AiDash’s Head of Strategic Partnerships, Lucy Collins.

BNG is not a new objective

The mandate for a development to leave nature in a better place than it was before the development happened did not originate with the recent Environment Act. Rather, the concept has been in the national policy framework for about 10 years.

“As an initiative, it has been led by the development sector,” explained Nick. “They recognized the opportunity to showcase what development can deliver for nature but also in terms of benefits for residents. We all benefit from working in the natural environment. It provides us with health and well-being benefits.”

Originally, it was down to individual planning authorities to set the biodiversity-related requirements, but these would vary from area to area. The new BNG legislation was put in place to offer a more standardized approach.

The updated method uses the Defra Statutory Biodiversity Metric or the Small Site Metric to measure biodiversity on-site before a development begins, and it predicts where BNG will be after completion. It addresses whether the project can demonstrate a measurable gain.

Why the new BNG legislation is significant

The new BNG legislation represents a “significant paradigm shift,” according to Nick, “because quite often in the past, environment was a place of intense conflict in the planning system.”

He noted that people would often “weaponize nature … as a way of trying to object to a development. And sometimes this was legitimate. Sometimes there were good grounds for saying ‘we don’t want this to take place.’ And you’d get into a battle of wills between the developer, local stakeholders, and the planner as to whether this was an appropriate scheme or not.”

With the newly legislated approach to BNG, the process has been updated to take a more transparent and objective approach, with the aim to:

• Remove conflict.
• Improve biodiversity.
• Ensure communities are benefitting.
• Ensure nature is benefitting.

This progress is important to drive biodiversity forward, Nick explained, “Because, sadly, the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, and especially in Europe.”

What impact is BNG having on the UK?

BNG regulations were set up to ensure that developers deliver a measurable outcome for improving natural habitats. But we all benefit from contact with the natural environment.

“We need to help nature because nature is in a crisis. We create more habitats for species, but those same habitats can benefit us,” Nick explained. For example, BNG plans can deliver more than biodiversity. For example:

• Green roofs can provide cooling.
• Habitats can decrease flood risk downstream.
• Health and well-being can be gained from contact with the natural environment.
• The population can experience better places in which to live and work.

Plus, overall, developments with access to nature are more sought-after places to live.

While biodiversity used to be more of an afterthought, BNG has brought it to the forefront, providing developers with the opportunity to plan early. This includes increased collaboration with landscape architects and ecologists to deliver both increased biodiversity and aesthetically pleasing spaces.

Costs and benefits for developers and local planning authorities (LPAs)

For developers, Nick said, “It is a pretty small cost, in terms of the total costs of the development scheme.” And the benefits add some balance to the costs.

The overarching benefit of the BNG legislation is that developers and landowners have a standardized way of getting applications through planning. Other benefits that balance costs are:

• Incoming residents enjoy biodiversity and nature.
• Sale and resale values increase.
• Developments are more attractive to buyers.
• Developers who can produce more than 10% BNG can create a habitat bank and sell the overproduced biodiversity units, creating a new income stream.

However, some LPAs are currently struggling with costs as well. In fact, the National Audit Office (NAO) has examined the progress Natural England and Defra are making on implementing BNG, and it is clear that local governments do not yet have the resources and funding they need to effectively manage BNG application approvals and monitoring.

Developers are not always responsible for the 30-year BNG plan

The required 30-year commitment to a development’s on-site BNG plans typically lands on the developer (or later the management company) who is delivering biodiversity within the red line of the development. But if BNG will be delivered off-site, the burden shifts to the landowner who’s providing the area for BNG unit production.

If delivering BNG offsite, the landowner or provider enters into a Section 106 legal agreement, in which they take on the responsibility.

Since reporting rounds are built into the 30-year required monitoring period, developers or landholders can make necessary adjustments to the BNG plan to better achieve promised outcomes. And adhering to the approved BNG plan for 30 years is important, as Section 106 provisions give LPAs the opportunity to take enforcement action against those who do not comply.

What’s next for BNG?

BNG has been launched and is expanding, not just in England, but also in similar endeavors around the world, Nick reported.

From late November 2025, Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, including highways, power stations, and power lines, will be expected to comply with BNG. The government also has taken steps to develop principles for marine nature recovery, or marine net gain (MNG).

Outside of England, Scotland and Wales are working on planning policy and metric updates for BNG.

Further, Nick said that the metric has been adapted for use in every continent except Antarctica.

“Clearly, people have fiddled around with it and adapted it for local circumstances,” he explained, but admonished. “BNG is not a silver bullet. It’s not going to solve the nature crisis. It is a useful contribution, but we need more approaches. We started with biodiversity, but there is a whole ambition to move beyond BNG to environmental net gain.”

With continued support and adherence to BNG, and beyond, developers can help lead the way to a more sustainable and resilient future — one where nature thrives, and society prospers.

Learn how AiDash BNGAI™ can ease and speed your BNG application and monitoring processes.