Biodiversity Net Gain: What fast-tracked house building could mean for farmers

The UK government has launched a major consultation on planning reform, calling it “the most fundamental rewrite of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) since its introduction over a decade ago”.

DEFRA explained that the reforms are set to create a clearer, more rules-based planning system, where developments that meet requirements can move forward with greater certainty.

“This will make the system easier to navigate for communities, councils and developers alike, while unlocking growth, supporting rural communities and protecting nature at scale.

“We are clear that growth and nature recovery must go hand in hand. These reforms show how we can deliver the homes and infrastructure the country needs, while maintaining our world-leading environmental protections,” a spokesperson for the department added.

Since its introduction, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) has ensured that new developments consider their impact on nature from the outset.

Through better location and design choices, and by avoiding or compensating for impacts, BNG is preventing habitat loss from residential development equivalent to an estimated 6,000–10,000 hectares each year in England – an area roughly the size of Nottingham.

Early evidence suggests BNG is working well for larger developments. More developers are seeking ecological advice earlier in the planning process and designing site layouts to avoid impacts on biodiversity and deliver more habitat onsite.

However, DEFRA said it recognises that while the policy is effective overall, some smaller developments and specific types of sites – in particular on brownfield land – are finding BNG more challenging and proportionately more expensive to deliver.

Targeted changes to be introduced

A spokesperson for DEFRA said that following a consultation earlier this year on improving BNG for minor, medium and brownfield development, which received over 25,000 responses, the department is introducing targeted changes to make the system work better whilst maintaining its commitment to nature recovery.

Smaller developments on sites below 0.2 hectares will be exempted from BNG requirements, reducing costs for small SME developers and saving local planning authorities time and money, the government confirmed.

“We’ll also consult on an additional targeted exemption for brownfield residential development, testing appropriate definitions of brownfield and a range of potential exemption sizes up to 2.5 hectares. By focusing specifically on residential development and on brownfield land of lower ecological value, we will support housing while protecting the delivery of BNG elsewhere.

“We will also introduce measures to make it easier, quicker, and cheaper to deliver BNG offsite as set out in the consultation, benefiting a wide range of development,” a spokesperson for DEFRA added.

Until changes are officially implemented, which will require secondary legislation in some cases, BNG continues to apply in its current form, and developers should continue to follow existing guidance and legislation when delivering BNG.

‘These reforms help provide a fairer framework’

The NFU has welcomed the government’s announcement and said that the reform is expected to reduce red tape, speed up applications and support investment in modern facilities, including those aimed at improving animal welfare standards.

If implemented, this would be a “significant step forward in making planning simpler and more supportive of farming businesses,” said NFU vice president Rachel Hallos.

Ms Hallos added the consultation is a “clear indication of the government’s intent to modernise the planning system and make it work better for farming businesses”.

“We agree with secretary of state Steve Reed that the current system is not working well enough and must change to allow our members’ businesses to grow and invest in the future.”

She continued: “Farmers remain committed to caring for the countryside and enhancing the natural environment. With simplified rules, the sector will continue to play a vital role in protecting biodiversity, maintaining hedgerows, improving soil health and safeguarding water quality.

“These reforms help provide a fairer framework that allows them to balance environmental care with the urgent need to produce healthy, sustainable and affordable food for the nation.”

‘Large chunk of potential investment has been taken out of the system’

Martin Lines, Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) CEO, said: “The decision to set the exemption at 0.2 hectares means a significant number of development sites will no longer be investing in nature to offset their impacts. That risks undermining future private investment opportunities that farmers can access to deliver nature restoration across the wider landscape.

“There was a genuine issue which needed addressing where very small, single-house developments had to jump through disproportionate hoops at a cost of thousands of pounds. But setting the threshold this high takes a large chunk of potential investment out of the system. A much lower level would have solved this problem without weakening BNG overall.”

Mr Lines added that continuing to row back on BNG and nature markets sends the “wrong signal” to the private sector and unsettles confidence, just as these markets are starting to develop.

“This uncertainty, ultimately, reduces the financial support available to farmers to deliver ambitious, long-term outcomes for nature,” he concluded.

‘Positive step forward’

CLA president Gavin Lane said that the association has been working closely with the government to show that planning reform can unlock the vast economic potential of the rural economy.

He added that ministers within MHCLG and DEFRA should be “praised for listening”. This National Planning Policy Framework consultation represents a positive step forward for rural areas, and, once enacted, these policies will boost growth in the countryside.

“The consultation acknowledges the unique challenges faced by rural communities and includes new policies on management of flood risk, energy and water. Now we need planning officers to have better access to training on rural issues and agricultural matters to ensure these reforms deliver for the countryside.”

Mr Lane added that exempting the smallest sites from BNG while the planning system is being reformed could help unlock many developments that are currently stuck in the system, and supports the CLA’s call for a small number of homes to be built in a large number of villages to help keep rural communities sustainable.

“The NPPF consultation also proposes a new medium-size threshold for planning applications of 10–49 houses. Exempting sites up to 49 houses from BNG requirements could kill an emerging off-site market that is funding landowners and managers to do vital work on nature recovery and raising the bar on nature-rich housing development. If the natural capital market is hollowed out, England won’t be able to deliver on the Environmental Improvement Plan and meet the government’s own nature targets,” he continued.

Broken manifesto

Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, however, said that the plans fail to unlock the win-wins for nature and development this government promised to deliver.  

He added: “In their election manifesto, Labour made a commitment to ensure that housing and infrastructure development would be done in a way that ‘promotes nature’s recovery’. But the announcement adds to the long list of ways in which this promise is being broken.  

“More specifically, in January of this year, when he was environment secretary, Steve Reed made a solemn promise that the government was ‘committed to Biodiversity Net Gain’. Now, as housing secretary, he has broken his word and has weakened it to such an extent that a combined area across England the size of Windsor Forest will now not be restored for nature.”

Mr Bennett added this confirms that the majority of planning applications will not now contribute to nature’s recovery. “This will see a significant chunk of jobs and private sector investment in nature’s recovery lost.  

“This is happening because from Keir Starmer down, this government seems to be wedded to an outdated, discredited old-world view that the choice before us is one of nature OR housing, even though there are plenty of examples of how you can have both, and even though it’s abundantly clear the British people want both. We should be working to rebuild our natural infrastructure alongside new housing and built infrastructure, not engage in tired old performative politics that trades one off against each other,” he concluded.

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