What is a Biodiversity Gain Plan?
If Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) applies to your planning permission, the standard Biodiversity Gain Plan condition applies automatically, even if it is not included on your decision notice.
This means you must submit a Biodiversity Gain Plan and get it approved before you start any works that are part of your approved development.
The Biodiversity Gain Plan condition is a legal planning condition. It comes from Schedule 7A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
You cannot change or remove this condition through a Section 73 application. It also cannot be discharged before planning permission is granted, its consideration is a post decision process.
A Biodiversity Gain Plan explains how the development will deliver at least 10% biodiversity net gain, as required by the planning permission.
The Biodiversity Gain Plan is different from the biodiversity metric calculation tool and Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan (HMMP).
We recommend that applicants discuss BNG with us before making their application. You can do this through our pre application advice service.
It is also recommended sending a draft Biodiversity Gain Plan with your planning application. This helps to:
- make sure the right information has been considered early
- reduce delays when you later apply to discharge the BNG condition
The Future Homes and Planning Advisory Service has a BNG best practice process flow chart showing how BNG can be considered throughout the planning process.
How to apply to discharge the Biodiversity Gain Plan condition
You apply to discharge the Biodiversity Gain Plan condition in the same way as other planning conditions.
You can apply online through the Planning Portal.
If you cannot apply online, you can download a paper form from the Planning Portal and email it to the relevant planning team.
You must pay a fee each time you submit a request. The Planning Portal gives details of the current fees and the process for discharging planning conditions.
What the Biodiversity Gain Plan must include
It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide all the documents needed. If the Biodiversity Gain Plan is incomplete or not acceptable:
- the condition cannot be discharged; and
- development cannot start.
Your biodiversity gain plan must include the following information:
- You should complete the government Biodiversity Gain Plan template provided by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
- Section 4.14 of the template requires an up-to-date completed:
- statutory biodiversity metric; or
- statutory small sites metric.
You must choose the correct biodiversity Metric by following Government guidance. Statutory biodiversity metric tools and guides - GOV.UK
The metric must:
- have all sheets unhidden
- be saved as a macro disabled excel file, which means an .xlsx file.
If nothing has changed, you can resubmit the original Metric that was provided with the planning application.
- Condition Assessments
Section 4.15 on the Gain Plan Template requires up-to-date condition assessment sheets to be submitted.
If nothing has changed, you can resubmit the original condition assessments that were provided with the planning application.
- Pre-development Habitat Survey Report and Map (On site Baseline)
Section 4.16 of the template requires a pre-development survey report and map.
The map must:
- be drawn to an identified scale
- show the direction of North
- show all baseline habitats
- include the area of each habitat type.
If you use the statutory biodiversity metric, measurements must be shown as:
- hectares (ha) for the habitat module; and
- kilometres (km) for the watercourse and hedgerow modules.
If you use the small sites biodiversity metric the measurements must be:
- metres squared (m²) for the habitat module; and
- metres (m) for the watercourse and hedgerow modules.
- Habitat bank units
If the developer is buying units from a Habitat Bank – they must provide the reference number from the Biodiversity Net Gain Register.
- Statutory credits
If the developer is buying statutory credits – they must provide:
- evidence that the credits are needed
- proof of purchase. Government Guidance give more information about what a Biodiversity Gain Plan must include
Biodiversity Net Gain Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan
Your planning decision notice may include a separate condition requiring you to submit a Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan, called the HMMP. A HMMP is separate from the Biodiversity Gain Plan.
The HMMP condition can only be agreed after the Biodiversity Gain Plan has been approved
The HMMP must explain how significant on-site, and all off-site habitats will be:
- established
- managed
- monitored
Natural England has produced an HMMP template: Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan Template - JP058
Government has also published guidance on Creating a Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan for Biodiversity Net Gain
What happens next?
The Council as the local planning authority has 8 weeks from receiving a completed discharge of condition application to make a decision whether to approve (discharge) the Biodiversity Gain Plan.
The fee will be refunded if a decision is not made within 12 weeks of receiving the completed application, unless an extension of time is agreed.