Biodiversity Net Gain in Wiltshire: Understanding BNG

Wiltshire Council is passionate about encouraging an increase in the local natural environment and has followed the government’s example by implementing a base-level BNG requirement, resulting in a 10% increase for all proposed development projects.

Projects must deliver a biodiversity net gain (BNG) that can be sustained over the course of at least 30 years, which must be outlined in any planning permission application documents. If BNG is not possible at the location of development, developers must accomplish the gain off-site by purchasing biodiversity credits elsewhere.

The Planning Practice Guidance for Biodiversity Net Gain for England is located to provide further guidance on the GOV.UK website.

Both minor and major developments should be supplemented with a BNG plan. For larger infrastructure projects, this applies to residential projects that host 10 or more dwellings or sites that span more than 0.5 hectares. Minor developments cover projects with 1 to 9 dwellings or sites smaller than 0.5 hectares, as well as commercial developments where the floor space created is under 1000 square metres or the site area is less than 1 hectare.

There are 10 vital good practice principles of biodiversity net gain that can help a project showcase a conscious effort towards the BNG requirement. Outlined below are the mandatory net gain principles to successfully achieve BNG:

• Utilise the mitigation hierarchy to minimise the impact on biodiversity
• Eliminate any negative impacts of development on biodiversity
• Communicate each BNG outcome with complete transparency
• Cover all areas of sustainability, including societal and economic factors
• Involve any pre-development stakeholders in creating mandatory BNG solutions. Those involved post-development should also be included in BNG solutions.
• Focus on producing sustainable natural benefits for biodiversity to leave a site and local wildlife in an improved state
• Understand the variable factors and potential risks in order to deliver BNG
• Attempt to exceed the base level requirement for biodiversity gains where possible
• Determine a suitable method in order to secure measurable on-site BNG gains
• Ensure the best possible results from biodiversity net gain

BNG requires developers to become directly involved in protecting important habitats. If you’re uncertain how biodiversity net gain (BNG) might affect your planning application, it’s important to contact your local planning authority or consult an experienced ecologist early on, especially if your development could be significantly impacted.

Our ecological consultants can carry out a habitat classification using the Statutory Biodiversity Metric (formerly Defra Metric 4.0). We will then incorporate the results into a tailored habitat management and monitoring plan, which factors in local nature recovery strategies to help ensure your project achieves the required net gain.

Collington Winter Environmental’s ecology team holds Natural England licences and work with a number of clients across England and Wales, including those in Wiltshire.

For projects large and small, we can help developers gain clarity on the principles of BNG and how best to meet them. Our experts have the extensive experience needed to help developers in putting together a biodiversity gain plan to meet the needs of Wiltshire Council.

To find out more about Collington Winter’s approach to biodiversity net gain, Wiltshire, speak to a member of our team today at info@collingtonwinter.co.uk, or simply fill out the contact form below.