The Environment Act 2021 (legislation.gov.uk) lays out how Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) can contribute to the recovery of nature whilst still allowing land to developed. The purpose of BNG is to ensure that more habitats are available, and that they are in a better condition, than before development occurred. All relevant planning applications will be required to demonstrate how they achieve 10% Biodiversity Gain as part of the development. This will involve the submission of a Biodiversity Gain Plan, Statutory Biodiversity Metric and Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan for approval by the Local Planning Authority.
The Government have phased the implementation of mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain as follows:
To support the implementation and delivery of BNG in East Suffolk and help maximise the gains for biodiversity which can be achieved, East Suffolk Council is also preparing locally specific guidance on a number of topics.