A survey by the Land Trust has indicated that, of those land promoters and developers surveyed, half said the upcoming mandatory biodiversity net gain ("BNG") requirements would be 'very challenging'. 

A key aspect is likely to be the impact on profitability, noted by almost 75% of the respondents to be a knock on effect of the legislation. With a little over a year to go until the BNG requirements come into force in November 2023, a key identified challenge is the availability of offsite land to deliver the minimum 10% net gain. 

In this vein, 18% of those surveyed indicated that their organisation has either already started to, or intends to, deliver its own “habitat bank” for the delivery of offsite BNG. This should help to ease the requirements where onsite delivery is not achievable. 

The earlier residential developers can forward plan for projects in the pipeline, the easier it will be to address the requirements swiftly within the planning process.  Early consideration of BNG for upcoming developments can only go so far in reducing delays, with 73% of those surveyed considering local authority resourcing and skillset to be a significant area of concern. It remains to be seen how the planning system will adapt to the new requirements. 

Notably, despite the recognisable challenges developers will face, 98% of those surveyed agreed with the principles of the legislative requirements as set out in the Environment Act 2021. How BNG will be delivered post November 2023 will likely differ across the residential development industry and in particular will depend on the availability of onsite an offsite land.