Environmental groups are calling for the BNG scheme to be strengthened and for the upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill to implement key planning reforms that will benefit nature alongside moves to speed up the system.

New research from Wildlife and Countryside Link, as part of its Wilder By Design nature-friendly planning reform campaign, has found that just 680 hectares of land offsite and 93 ha on-site has been reported by Local Authorities under the BNG scheme, since the policy’s introduction[1]. This is just a fraction (less than 13%) of the 5,428 hectares of habitat Defra estimated was likely to be generated annually by BNG and is less than half the minimum amount of habitat expected to be delivered per year.

BNG was developed as part of the Environment Act and came into force on 12 February last year. The policy requires developers to create or enhance habitat to compensate for any harm to nature from new developments and deliver at least 10% “biodiversity net gain” (measured by the quality, extent, significance and type of habitats created). Developers are able to undertake nature recovery work on-site, or by purchasing credits for off-site habitat enhancements.