Senior figures from across the built environment industry have called on the government to urgently clarify the timeframe for the delivery of mandatory new biodiversity net gain (BNG) regulations following reports that their introduction has been delayed.
The BBC said that government sources had told it that the laws, which require new developments in England to demonstrate a 10% increase in biodiversity on or near development sites, would no longer be introduced in November this year as originally planned.
The government claimed it was still committed to the policy and that it would announce a new implementation date in the future, but news of the delay has been strongly criticised across the industry.
Rob Wall, assistant director sustainability at the British Property Federation, said: “This announcement by government has the potential to create yet more uncertainty at a time when industry is calling for greater clarity and consistency. The built environment sector has a huge contribution to make in protecting and restoring nature and promoting biodiversity. That is why the BPF and our members fully support the policy intention that underpins the proposed new regulations and why developers are already actively delivering biodiversity net gain across the country.
“Sadly, it has not clear why the introduction of mandatory BNG has been delayed, but the government now needs to set out more details on implementation as soon as possible. As part of this, we would also call on the government to confirm that adequate resourcing is available to ensure that local planning authorities are appropriately funded and skilled to implement the new regulations when they finally come into force.”
Simon McWhirter, deputy chief executive of the UKGBC, added: “These reports are yet another blow to sustainable development and risk 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 be enacted as soon as possible.”
Neil Beamsley, group head of biodiversity at Bellway, said: “Bellway is fully committed to the delivery of biodiversity net gains, a position demonstrated by the ambitious targets we have set within our Better with Bellway sustainability strategy. Although not entirely unexpected, the delays being reported today are a source of significant concern.
“Bellway has laid strong foundations to prepare for the implementation of BNG, but for us to be able to deliver we need a transparent delivery roadmap from government. Uncertainty around timescales and the absence of several vital documents are restricting our ability to do so.
“We remain committed to supporting the roll-out of BNG through our work with colleagues at the Future Homes Hub and will continue to offer support and insight to colleagues in government, to ensure BNG works for all parties and makes the positive impact that we all wish to see.”
Sarah Clark, partner at law firm BDB Pitmans, added: “This isn’t unexpected as the question on my clients’ lips in recent weeks has been will it happen? Landowners who were hoping to add their land to the new biodiversity site register will certainly be disappointed as this was due to be an important new income source for many of them. It does feel like a politically driven delay given the tone of recent announcements from Number 10 on green matters.
“Until a new timetable for implementation is announced and the draft regulations are published, local authorities, developers and landowners alike are left with considerable uncertainty about when these significant changes will take effect. The pricing of statutory biodiversity credits, which can be bought from the government as an option of last resort if BNG cannot be delivered, announced in the summer was considered high by many developers and they will unquestionable drive up the value of land on the biodiversity register.
“More broadly and on the ‘levelling up’ agenda, this will have implications for landowners outside of the South East who would have had more opportunity to realise land value which has typically been lower due to grade and location.
“Some local authorities have planning policies in place which already require BNG but there are still a lot of projects which don’t deliver on it. Planning applications which have been made already won’t be affected by today’s news and there will be some developers who will be pleased about the delay as they can get applications planned for submission later this year into the system before the new requirements take effect.”
The news follows the government’s announcement of a watering down of the UK’s net zero policies last week. During a speech, prime minister Rishi Sunak announced the government was scrapping EPC targets on homes and pushing back the deadline for phasing out fossil fuel boilers from 2026 to 2035.
