The British Property Federation has strongly criticised the government’s decision to delay the introduction of biodiversity net gain legislation.
Whitehall this week briefed that the new legislation framework, which would require a 10% biodiversity net gain on all large domestic, commercial and mixed-use sites from November, will no longer be implemented this year.
Rob Wall, assistant director of 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 announcement comes just days after the BPF attacked the prime minister’s plans to water-down other key net zero commitments.
Wall added: “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.”
The government has since said the 10% BNG target will come into force in January 2024.
BNG for small sites will be applicable from April 2024, and implementation for nationally significant infrastructure projects is planned for 2025.
However, the delay has once again put it at odds with best practice in the industry.
Wall said: “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.”
He said the BPF was calling on the government to confirm that adequate resourcing would be available to ensure that local planning authorities are appropriately funded and skilled to implement the new regulations “when they finally come into force”.
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