“A nightmare before Xmas for nature” was one take on the changes to rules on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) announced by Housing Secretary Matthew Pennycook during a debate on planning reform and housing policy in the House of Commons on Tuesday 16 December.
The Wildlife Trusts’ response was one of many from conservation groups that regretted the government’s decision to introduce exemptions that will lead to at least 60% of all planning applications escaping BNG obligations. The move “will torpedo business confidence, nature markets, and opportunities for nature recovery in England”, said a statement from the group.
This was still something of a reprieve from the much more wholesale BNG reforms that had been rumoured.
The Government is progressing changes to the planning system aimed at increasing the rate of housebuilding as part of its Plan for Change targets, including delivering 1.5 million new homes.
As part of that, announcements were made to modify how BNG applies, including exemptions for smaller sites under 0.2 hectares — a significant shift from the previous requirement that most developments had to deliver a net 10 % biodiversity gain. These changes are a bid to simplify things and “get Britain building” by reducing planning burdens on smaller developments.
However, there was no shortage of strong criticism from environmental groups who said the reform weakens nature protections.
Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said: “In their Election Manifesto, Labour made a commitment to ensure that housing and infrastructure development would be done in a way that “promotes nature’s recovery”. But today’s announcement adds to the long list of ways in which this promise is being broken.
“More specifically, in January of this year when he was Environment Secretary, Steve Reed made a solemn promise that the Government was “committed to Biodiversity Net Gain”. Now, as Housing Secretary, he has broken his word and has weakened it to such an extent that a combined area across England the size of Windsor Forest will now not be restored for nature. It confirms that the majority of planning applications will not now contribute to nature’s recovery. This will see a significant chunk of jobs and private sector investment in nature’s recovery lost.
“This is happening because from Kier Starmer down, this Government seems to be wedded to an outdated, discredited old-world view that the choice before us is one of nature OR housing, even though there are plenty of examples of how you can have both, and even though it’s abundantly clear the British people want both. We should be working to rebuild our natural infrastructure alongside new housing and built infrastructure, not engage in tired old performative politics that trades one off against each other”.
Tom Gall of the Rivers Trust expressed “a sense of relief that the government has stepped back from the sweeping BNG exemptions that were rumoured”. He noted the exemption for sites under 0.2ha as “a missed opportunity” to drive investment into nature recovery.
“Additional plans to streamline the process for small developers will need to be approached with caution, as oversimplification could risk eroding vital protections and allowing developers to cut corners when it comes to delivering a boost to biodiversity. Small sites make up a significant portion of development activity, and their combined impact on biodiversity should not be underestimated, or undervalued.”
