Mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)

The way the planning system considers its impacts on biodiversity has changed. Starting in 2024, new statutory regulations mean that, subject to some exemptions, development will have to demonstrate a minimum 10% increase in biodiversity.

The start dates for these regulations to come into effect are staggered and apply for major applications made from 12 February and minors from 2 April 2024.

Detailed guidance on biodiversity net gain, and how it applies to different sorts of applications, has been published by Government. In addition to this, to help planning applicants in preparing biodiversity net gain assessments, City of Doncaster Council has published two guidance notes. Details of these are set out below.

Assigning Strategic Significance

The Council’s Biodiversity Net Gain SPD previously provided information on how to assign strategic significance within BNG calculations prior to mandatory net gain coming into force. Since the publication of the SPD, new guidance has been provided in Table 8 of the Statutory Metric User Guide, that sets out how strategic significance values should be assigned where the Local Nature Recovery Strategy has not yet been published. City of Doncaster Council has therefore published revised guidance on this topic - Planning Policy Guidance: Assigning Strategic Significance for applications subject to mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain.

Planning Policy Guidance: Assigning Strategic Significance

Download (218KB - PDF)

Applications subject to mandatory net gain should follow this guidance in carrying out their net gain calculations. Applications submitted prior to mandatory Net Gain coming into force can use either the guidance above or that previously published in the SPD.

Significant On-Site Enhancements

Planning Policy Guidance on Defining significant on-site enhancements for Biodiversity Net Gain has been published by City of Doncaster Council.

Planning Policy Guidance: Defining Significant onsite enhancements

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This sets out what the Council consider to represent 'significant enhancement' within development proposals, and therefore what elements of the proposed on-site biodiversity net gain that it expects to be delivered and monitored for at least 30 years. Such significant enhancements will be secured by an appropriate legal agreement or a planning condition.

Further guidance on the cost of monitoring fees payable to the Council to cover the costs of monitoring significant onsite enhancements will be published in due course.

City of Doncaster Council’s Habitat Bank Assessment Guidance

The City of Doncaster Council is interested in working with parties wanting to use s106 agreements to legally secure offsite habitat banks within the Council’s administrative area. The Council is planning to publish a guidance note setting out what information will be required, and what criteria will need to be met before we consider entering into such an agreement.

To enter such an agreement with you, we will charge:

• A set up fee to cover the time spent for us to review your proposal and draft the legal agreement.
• A biodiversity monitoring fee to cover the cost of monitoring the progress of the habitat creation for 30 years.

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