BNG Exemption Consultation and Announcement

As we reported last year, in May 2025 the Government launched a consultation on improvements to the implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain (“BNG”) for minor, medium and brownfield development.

The Government has now published their summary of the consultation feedback and outlined the proposed changes to BNG policy and processes, which are expected to come into force from 31 July 2026.

Some key headlines are that the regulations will:

• introduce a new 0.2 hectare area based exemption

• remove the self and custom build exemption

• exempt temporary planning permissions granted for a maximum of 5 years

• amend the biodiversity gain hierarchy for minor development only

Subject to further consultation, future changes to legislation could also include:

• exemptions for development whose primary objective is to conserve or enhance biodiversity

• exemptions for targeted development that enhances parks, playing fields and public gardens

• changes to the de minimis threshold, including for ‘low impact’ larger sites

• a new exemption for residential brownfield development

We hope this will offer an opportunity for our clients to approach BNG more strategically and unlock their smaller sites for development, which are currently disproportionately affected.

We await updates to national guidance, planning application forms and the biodiversity gain plan & metric templates, alongside new guidance on how applications should be managed in the interim period. Until these changes take effect, the current 10% BNG requirement remains in place.

If you have any questions in relation to how this may impact your live or future planning applications, please contact the Firstplan team at info@firstplan.co.uk

The full Government response can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-the-implementation-of-biodiversity-net-gain-for-minor-medium-and-brownfield-development/outcome/government-response-and-summary-of-responses