Published: 22/07/2026 By Edward Dyke
Significant updates to England’s Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) regulations take effect on 6th August 2026, with the formal introduction of the highly anticipated exemptions for small development sites of 0.2 hectares or less. Under the new rules, any project with a total red-line boundary area of 0.2 hectares or less will be completely exempt from the mandatory 10% biodiversity uplift requirement, provided the development does not contain priority habitat, such as mature native hedgerows. If priority habitat is present, then BNG is still required irrespective of the scale of the development.Under the existing regime, the requirement to create a minimum 10% uplift in BNG has been causing considerable headache and cost. If onsite BNG creation is not possible then credits have had to be purchased, with the current price range for a single unit being in the region of £26,000 to £28,000.
Not only is this good news for small scale residential development sites, but also for farmers who may be having to apply for planning permission for livestock buildings where they lie within 400 metres of an affected dwelling. Under the old rules, they would have had to employ an ecologist and find a solution for providing the BNG mitigation, often at considerable cost. Provided the new buildings fall under the 0.2 hectares threshold, this requirement drops off. Under the existing permitted development rights for agricultural buildings, BNG is exempt in any event and this now creates a level playing field.
Where there have been recent planning approvals on sites of 0.2 hectares or less and BNG mitigation conditions are included in the decision notice, it may be worth considering making an application for a variation of condition to remove the BNG obligations and thus potentially saving a considerable cost.
Edward Dyke, Partner in our Sturminster Newton office, comments, “At last some positive news on the planning front! This has been a long known about change that has finally been enacted and it will make an enormous difference to our client base of farmers, landowners, and small-scale developers. It will save considerable costs in pulling together a planning application and should also speed the whole process up for securing planning permission.”
For further information, please contact Edward on 01258 473766 or our experts in your nearest Symonds & Sampson office.
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