On 10 November 2021 the Environment Bill received Royal Assent meeting the government’s stated ambition of passing this Bill before the close of COP26 in Glasgow. We await the final text of the Bill to be published. Of particular relevance to developers will be the requirement within the Bill for all development sites to deliver a 10% biodiversity net gain (BNG). It has been envisaged that there will be a two year transition period between the Act obtaining Royal Assent and BNG provisions coming into force in 2023, which is likely to have been carried through to the final text. Nonetheless many local planning authorities are strongly encouraging the delivery of BNG so as to align with policy aspirations within the NPPF, while a number of local plans already include policies requiring BNG.

Follow Aspect Ecology on LinkedIn for all our latest news LinkedIn Page