The Secretary of State has now launched an 8-week consultation on the Biodiversity Metric to be used for the purpose of calculating biodiversity net gain as required under the 2021 Environment Act[1]. The Biodiversity Metric is a key tool that …
By Mel Hughes, Director of Sustainable Development, Natural England Solutions to the pressing issue of how to bring forward plans for sustainable new homes without adding further nutrients to our already polluted waterbodies have been strengthened this week by Natural …
Defra has just opened a 12-week consultation, seeking views on the proposed aims and principles of marine net gain and how to best introduce a net gain approach to infrastructure and development in the marine environment. Natural England welcomes this …
I recently wrote about the Defra Consultation on biodiversity net gain (BNG). The consultation seeks feedback on topics and issues relating to the development of the frameworks, legislation and guidance of mandatory biodiversity net gain (BNG). If you haven’t already …
Natural England and Government have provided advice and support this week to help local planners and developers tackle two challenges that can sometimes be seen as in competition – building the homes the country needs while also protecting and restoring …
Recently we updated our standing advice to help local planning authorities take planning decisions which protect and enhance England’s irreplaceable ancient woodland, ancient and veteran trees and our rare and threatened species. Natural England’s role is to provide advice to …
The passing of the Environment Act is a significant step in setting out clear targets and direction in environmental legislation for nature recovery. Key amongst these is the mandating of biodiversity net gain within the planning process. This will make …
It has been great to see the growing amount of coverage in the news about Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), including a recent episode of BBC Countryfile. Under the Government’s flagship Environment Bill, both Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) and …
Publishing Biodiversity Metric 3.0 was a landmark moment for biodiversity net gain, it will become the metric used to calculate and evidence whether a project has achieved the biodiversity net gain requirements set out in the Environment Bill. Biodiversity Net …
Mel Hughes, Natural England's Sustainable Development Programme Director, discusses the National Infrastructure Strategy.