New research shows government should not exempt all small BNG sites

New research published this week by Eftec, commissioned by The Lifescape Project and Wildlife & Countryside Link, shows that widespread misuse of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) exemptions by developers has already resulted in 86% of approved planning applications claiming exemptions in the scheme’s first year – and this could rise to 97% if all small developments are removed from BNG requirements (as proposed in the current Defra consultation) and existing loopholes remain unaddressed, severely undermining efforts to restore nature.

Government proposals to exempt all small developments from BNG would not only jeopardise nature recovery but also inhibit green growth by drastically shrinking the biodiversity unit market and allowing developers to avoid up to £250 million in biodiversity compensation each year.

The report offers an alternative approach that reduces burdens on over 50,000 of the smallest developments annually while also closing loopholes exploited by larger developers. This would result in twice the area of land contributing to nature recovery (an additional 20,552 hectares) and double the size of the biodiversity market compared to the Government’s current proposals.

Scenario 2a in the report (see table below) shows that there is a way to remove the majority of the smallest sites (under 0.1 hectare) from BNG and at the same time increase the area required for BNG – hence a win for small developers and a win for biodiversity.

CIEEM is encouraging all members to respond to the consultation, stating that there is a win-win option for both small developers and nature. See the CIEEM response (both full and summary versions) on the website. You have until 24 July to submit your response.