Biodiversity Net Gain plan released

Defra has now released a draft version of the biodiversity gain plan template, together with user guidance, for use in conjunction with major developments from January 2024.

The biodiversity gain plan is a document that a developer will populate, to outline to a planning authority how their proposals will fulfil the criteria of the biodiversity net gain objective.

The biodiversity gain plan is likely to be submitted after planning permission has been granted and will receive approval from the local planning authority before development can commence.

As part of biodiversity gain plan, developers must submit the following in addition to the completion of the template document:

• Completed metric calculation tool
• Pre-development and post-development plans, showing the location of onsite habitat and drawn to an identified scale and showing the direction of North
• Approved compensation plan (if applicable)
• Register reference number(s) (if applicable)
• Statutory biodiversity credits eligibility evidence in the form of correspondence from habitat providers (if applicable)
• Statutory biodiversity credits proof of purchase (if applicable)
• Habitat management and monitoring plan (if applicable)

All guidance documentation is available from the Defra website; see further reading section below for further information.

Further reading

Defra website: The biodiversity gain plan draft template and guidance

BALI website: What Biodiversity Net Gain mean for the landscape industry?