2.2.2 BNG requirements

Where development would be subject to the general biodiversity gain condition, the application must be accompanied by minimum information set out in Article 7 of The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015:

• A statement as to whether the applicant believes that planning permission, if granted, would be subject to the biodiversity gain condition.
• The pre-development biodiversity value of the onsite habitat on the date of application (or an earlier date) including the completed metric calculation tool used showing the calculations, the publication date and version of the biodiversity metric used to calculate that value
• Where the applicant wishes to use an earlier date, the proposed earlier date and the reasons for proposing that date
• A statement confirming whether the biodiversity value of the onsite habitat is lower on the date of application (or an earlier date) because of the carrying on of activities ('degradation') in which case the value is to be taken as immediately before the carrying on of the activities, and if degradation has taken place supporting evidence of this
• A description of any irreplaceable habitat (as set out in column 1 of the Schedule to the Biodiversity Gain Requirements (Irreplaceable Habitat) Regulations [2024]) on the land to which the application relates, that exists on the date of application, (or an earlier date)
• A plan, drawn to an identified scale which must show the direction of North, showing onsite habitat existing on the date of application (or an earlier date), including any irreplaceable habitat

As of December 2025, the following are now on our local validation checklist (some requirements are the same as above):

• A completed metric
• A BNG report/statement
• Existing and Proposed Habitat Plans
• Where on-site delivery for BNG is proposed this must be completely within the red line boundary denoted on the submitted Location Plan

If this information has not been provided, the local planning authority must refuse to validate the application.

Where significant onsite delivery of biodiversity net gain will be provided, the BNG statement should provide details of both pre-development biodiversity value of the site and post-development biodiversity value of the site, with appropriate scaled plans, a copy of the completed metric and associated documents. In addition, a draft Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan should be provided to set out proposals for long-term maintenance of the habitats proposed.

Significant enhancements are areas of habitat enhancement which contribute significantly to the proposed development's biodiversity net gain relative to the biodiversity value before development. What counts as a significant enhancement will vary depending on the scale of development and existing habitat, but these would normally be:

• Habitats of medium or higher distinctiveness in the biodiversity metric
• Habitats of low distinctiveness which create a large number of biodiversity units relative to the biodiversity value of the site before development