This is the first step in putting the new rules, known as biodiversity net gain, onto a formal statutory footing.
Originally, the new regime, set out in the 2021 Environment Act, was meant to begin in November, requiring developers of housing, industrial or commercial developments to deliver a 10% biodiversity net gain (BNG) for the local environment.
This has now been delayed to January for larger sites, next April for small sites and sometime in 2025 for nationally significant infrastructure projects (projects that go through the development consent order process rather than local planning applications).
The new rules formed but not implementation date
Guidance on the regulations will be published by the end of November, the government said. This will include details of the statutory biodiversity metric that will be used for calculating the correct biodiversity gain.
Small builders welcomed the delay, providing much needed time to get the detail right; others were not so happy, seeing it as another retreat by government from its environmental commitments.
The House Builders Association (HBA), the housing arm of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said that it had long been a supporter of the BNG but the delay meant more time for getting it right.
The HBA wrote to ministers in July 2023 voicing concerns that BNG was going to harm its SME members the most because they were unable to set enough land aside to deliver the narrow vision of habitats set out by the BNG calculator. It proposed an alternate, less restrictive, way of calculating requirements for smaller sites.
Richard Beresford, chief executive of the NFB, said: “We have worked incredibly hard on strategies to ensure BNG can work in practice and the announced delay gives us a chance to work more closely with the government to implement onsite solutions. By building in biodiversity, we can ensure development acts to grow habitats and stimulate species recovery, rather than acting as a block on wildlife corridors via offsetting credits.”
The UK Green Building Council took a different view. Deputy chief executive Simon McWhirter said: "This is yet another blow to sustainable development and risks undermining national efforts to put the collapse of nature into reverse. Responsible developers large and small have been gearing up for this change for years, with many of our members creating dedicated jobs to deliver net gain from in-house consultants to designers, landscape architects and creative project leads. This will be exceptionally damaging for their projected work pipelines, investment, supply chains, and related job roles.
“As for the rollback on carbon policy last week, the industry needs certainty clarity and commitment in order to facilitate green investment and continue to make progress. Biodiversity net gain is no exception. The policy is essential for delivering our sector's role in reversing nature's decline and should not be delayed any further.”
Gillian Charlesworth, chief executive of the Building Research Establishment (BRE), said: “Our industry has been working hard to prepare for the inclusion of mandatory biodiversity net gain rules and delays threaten to cause prolonged uncertainty for some major projects. The government cannot and must not miss its revised deadline for the implementation of BNG so that industry can successfully deliver these vital environmental improvements at the scale required. More and faster, not less and slower, action is needed if we are to meet our 2050 goals.”
Biodiversity minister Trudy Harrison said: “Biodiversity net gain will ensure new developments work for both wildlife and people . We will create nature-rich places whilst ensuring communities get the new homes and infrastructure they need.
“The updated timetable and guidance we are setting out today will help smooth the transition ahead of the biodiversity net gain going fully live in January 2024. Developers and planning authorities should use this to familiarise themselves with the guidance and prepare for the integration of biodiversity net gain into the planning system.”
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