Legislation to oblige all developments to improve biodiversity will be put before parliament this week after a two-year wait.
The first group of statutory instruments for the biodiversity net gain rules will be introduced in the House of Commons tomorrow, with a second raft to follow.
The Department for the Environment, along with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said the rules would “ensure developments leave nature in a better state”.
The legislation to make biodiversity net gain mandatory across England was introduced in the Environment Act, which received royal assent in November 2021.
See also: BNG: Weighing up the options
Once the laws have been passed, developers will be required to use a single, standardised metric from January and invest in measures that increase the biodiversity in the local area by a minimum of 10% in order to secure planning permission.
The rules will come into force for large sites in January and small sites in April.
The government today announced further environmental measures, to tie in with the COP28 summit in Dubai, which begins tomorrow.
It is launching a competition to create a new forest for the nation, inviting bids from across England, as well as commissioning Natural England to identify the next national park.
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