The BNG

Over a year on from it becoming mandatory, what is to be made of BNG? On the one hand, according to an open letter signed by a 40-strong coalition of housebuilders and environmental groups to mark the first anniversary, “BNG is a true success story. Over the past year, it has unlocked unprecedented investment in local habitats, while also driving green growth.” On the other hand, only a tenth of respondents to Planning’s consultants survey believed that the system is working well, perhaps because, according to the HBF, nearly 40% of local planning authorities do not have access to in-house ecological expertise. What is really going on..? To find out, Sam Stafford invited five experts in in this field to talk about what, in their view, is working well, or at least as expected; what is not working well, or at least not as expected; and what, if anything, needs to change. Those experts are Martin Hutchings, Helen Nyul, Neil Beamsley, Julian Arthur and Nina Pindham. They talked about small sites, exemptions, metrics and matrices, management companies, phased development, going above the mandatory 10%, Local Nature Recovery Strategies and the proposed Nature Restoration Fund. Some accompanying reading. On BNG Biodiversity Net Gain One Year On: Is This World-Leading Scheme Taking Root? What consultants really think about the market, public harassment, agency staff at councils – and more (£) Biodiversity Net Gain: One year on ‘A Practical Guide to Biodiversity Net Gain’ by Nina Pindham The Planning Advisory Service bulletin What 500 Planning Applications Reveal About Biodiversity Net Gain in Action Ecologists and environmental scientists call for a small sites levy one year on from mandatory BNG for small sites Assistance Required: 'The Snagging List' Some accompanying listening. Evergreen - Rose City Band Any other business. 50 Shades T-Shirts! If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here. Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.