Developments
Under the Environment Act 2021, planning permissions granted in England, with a few exemptions, will have to deliver at least 10% biodiversity net gain. They will do so using the biodiversity metric to demonstrate this.
Major developments are defined as a -
- residential development of 10 dwellings or more
- commercial development of 1,000 square metres or more
- commercial development where the site area is one hectare or more
Minor developments are defined as a –
- residential development of less than 10 dwellings
- commercial development less than 1,000 square metres
- commercial development where the site area is less than one hectare
Types of developments exempt from biodiversity net gain requirements are -
- developments impacting non-priority habitat of an area below a ‘de minimis’ threshold of 25 square metres. For example, 5 metres by 5 metres
- householder applications
- biodiversity gain sites where habitats are being enhanced to comply with a BNG requirement
- small scale self-build and custom housebuilding
There is more information for developers through the government website.