Biodiversity Net Gain
Who does biodiversity net gain affect?
Biodiversity net gain is expected to affect all planning applications, except those which are specifically exempt. The exempt list includes:
- Permitted Development
- Householder applications
- Urgent crown development
- Developments impacting habitat of an area below the threshold of 25 metres squared, or 5 metres for linear habitats such as hedgerows
- Note: a habitat is 'impacted' where the habitat is lost or degraded causing a decrease in the biodiversity value of that habitat
- Biodiversity gain sites
- Small scale self-build and custom housebuilding.
Biodiversity net gain regulations was initially implemented in February 2024, apart from small sites whose transition period was until 2 April 2024. A small site is defined as:
For residential: between 1-9 dwellings on a site having an area less than one hectare
Or
Where the number of dwellings to be provided is not known, a site area of less than 0.5 hectares
For non-residential: where the floor space to be created is less than 1,000 square metres
And
Where the site area is less than one hectare