With Biodiversity Net Gain requirements becoming mandatory this year, Ross Jarvis, associate in the Real Estate Team at UK Law firm Michelmores, looks at the practical steps developers can take to prepare
Biodiversity Net Gain’s (BNG) transitional arrangements will close in November 2023, and BNG delivery will become a mandatory requirement for the vast majority of housebuilders and developers.
Now that the countdown is on for Biodiversity Net Gain requirements, what do developers need to do to prepare?
Getting to grips with Biodiversity Net Gain requirements
Some Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) have already begun rolling out BNG delivery on certain developments, but the remainder will have to do so by law when the transition period comes to an end in November 2023.
All developers and housebuilders will need to ensure they have a firm grasp of the BNG requirements and delivery methods well ahead of this date, or risk facing even greater delays in the planning system, unexpected costs affecting viability and potentially ongoing liabilities.
Practical steps for developers
Over the next year developers need to become familiar with the BNG regime in the context of their business operations and take the following practical steps:
- Understand the Biodiversity Matrix prepared by Natural England.
The Natural England Biodiversity Matrix will provide the formula for calculating existing and required levels of biodiversity and be the basis on which BNG requirements for individual developments are assessed.
- Review the Biodiversity Matrix against existing pipeline sites and/or prospective sites where it is anticipated that a planning application will be submitted post-November 2023.Â
This will offer some insight into what a 10% ‘net gain’ will look like on proposed development projects. Developers should also consider whether these sites fall within the administrative boundaries of an LPA that is already imposing BNG (because many will be) and if so, what the consequences will be for their development proposals and viability.
Finally, developers should reassess their contractual obligations to maximise value in light of the cost implications of on-site vs offsite BNG options (with the latter, particularly BNG units, likely to be more expensive).
- Familiarise yourself with existing LPA literature and guidance on BNG delivery.Â
A handful of LPAs have already provided this guidance, including examples of BNG planning conditions and S106 obligations.
- Plan ahead by considering new design strategies aimed at maximising on-site delivery opportunities through the creation of habitats which can be incorporated into developments.Â
Bat or bird boxes and hedgehog highways will not suffice because the Biodiversity Metric takes a habitat-based approach. So developers will need to think creatively about how they can, for example, convert public open space into a BNG vehicle – possibly by establishing meadows, using indigenous hedges rather than boundary fencing and/or creating wetlands within the proximity of attenuation facilities.
Another key feature of the BNG regime is that the gain and associated management must be in place for 30 years. Developers need to be thinking about what changes they will need to make to their estate management services if their management companies will now be required to maintain specially created ecological habitats long after sales have completed.
- Review and understand the current range of ‘off-site’ delivery measures available.Â
These could include delivering BNG on neighbouring land, purchasing non-statutory BNG units created through networks of habitat banks and purchasing statutory biodiversity credits.
Consultation on Biodiversity Net Gain Regulations
In January 2022, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) published a consultation on the full implementation of biodiversity net gain requirements on new developments in England.
The awaited government response to the net gain consultation will provide clarity on the BNG requirement, how it will be applicable to different types of development and how it will operate in practice.
For more guidance on how to prepare for BNG requirements, watch our webinar here.
Ross Jarvis
Associate, Real Estate Team
Michelmores
Tel: +44 (0)20 7659 7660
