On 4th September, we hosted an important parliamentary event to highlight the critical issue of the exploitation of exemptions to the BNG policy in England. The event brought together key representatives from environmental charities, green businesses, MPs, and Peers; underscoring the urgency of action to address loopholes that threaten the UK's natural environment.
The BNG policy is a key pillar of the Government's vision for new development that supports nature's recovery, as well as a vital mechanism for achieving the UK’s legal target to halt nature's decline in the UK by 2030. To comply with the policy, new development must compensate for any habitat it destroys, and then add an extra 10%’s worth of habitat, either on site, locally or through government credits.
However, research cited by the Green Finance Institute (GFI) indicates as low as 0.5% of planning applications are currently delivering BNG, with mass abuse of the policy’s exemptions.
Read more about the policy, and the exemptions issue in our blog here
The event was kindly hosted together with Luke Murphy MP (MP for Basingstoke), who facilitated a productive discussion on the challenges posed by these exemptions.
The Trust also co-signed a letter to Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner MP - alongside attendee organisations, charities and leading BNG businesses - calling for urgent action to close these loopholes.
Debbie Tann MBE, CEO of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust was a key speaker at the event and emphasized the importance of the issue and expressed gratitude to those policymakers and organisations who participated.
"The exploitation of exemptions to the Biodiversity Net Gain policy poses a real threat to our natural environment," said Debbie Tann. "We are incredibly grateful to the MPs and Peers who attended and engaged with this critical issue. Their support is vital in championing the solutions needed to safeguard our biodiversity for future generations.
Without urgent action to address these loopholes, progress towards our legal target to halt species decline by 2030 will be put at risk. Earlier this year in The King's Speech, the new Government promised new development would help support nature's recovery. Without fixing the holes in Biodiversity Net Gain, this will be impossible.”
John Durnell, Managing Director of Arcadian Ecology and Consulting, who also spoke at the event, said: “Abuse of the exemptions to Biodiversity Net Gain represents a significant risk to associated businesses and green investment. Without clear demand for biodiversity enhancement and services, vital investment in nature's recovery is at risk.”
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust looks forward to continuing to work closely with policymakers and other stakeholders to ensure that the Biodiversity Net Gain policy is implemented effectively, without the exploitation of loopholes that could undermine its intended benefits.
The Trust is also pleased to have contributed to a new Wildlife and Countryside Link Briefing Paper “Fixing Biodiversity Net Gain”, which covers the issue of the exploitation of the exemptions and possible solutions.
For more information and to support our ongoing work, please see here.
