How BNG works with your planning application
When making a planning application in England, applicants must submit specific information to show that they can deliver habitat improvements to meet a required minimum 10% BNG.
Avoiding impacts on biodiversity which already exists on the development site should be the first consideration. Design of the development is very important.
Where impacts cannot be avoided, habitats can be created:
- on the development site - this is preferred
- offsite
- through a combination of both.
As a last resort, biodiversity credits can be purchased from the government.
To help this process, qualified ecologists can be employed to carry out habitat surveys. The biodiversity metric is an approach used to assess an area’s value to wildlife and uses habitat features to calculate a biodiversity value. Check BNG calculation guidance on GOV.UK.
New habitats must provide genuine gains with a legacy of at least 30 years.
We will be publishing an Advice Note in due course on what information needs to be provided in relation to BNG, in support of a planning application in Slough.