Government Publishes Draft Mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) Regulations & Draft Guidance

On 29 November 2023, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) published a blog post summarising the six sets of regulations that it has prepared to implement mandatory biodiversity net gain (BNG) in England for planning applications under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 from 1 January 2024.

Two sets of the regulations, the Biodiversity Gain (Town and Country Planning) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2023 and the Biodiversity Gain Site Register (Financial Penalties and Fees) Regulations 2023, were laid in Parliament on 30 November 2023 for approval. The remaining four sets have been published in draft for information. They are the Biodiversity Gain (Town and Country Planning) (Modifications and Amendments) (England) Regulations 2024, the Biodiversity Gain Site Register Regulations 2024, the Biodiversity Gain Requirements (Exemptions) Regulations 2024 and the Biodiversity Gain Requirements (Irreplaceable Habitat) Regulations 2024.

Defra also published a raft of related guidance, including on what local authorities should do and about legal agreements to secure BNG.

The Department for Levelling-up, Housing and Communities published draft BNG planning practice guidance and the Planning Advisory Service updated its BNG guidance and templates for local planning authorities.

More information:

The Biodiversity Net Gain Statutory Instruments – explained – Land use: policies and framework

Biodiversity net gain guidance – what you need to know – Land use: policies and framework