12 COMMENT


Nicky Brock, partner at Carter Jonas


How planning could stop BNG being a blocker


Nicky Brock of Carter Jonas argues that a small procedural change to biodiversity net gain approvals could unlock faster delivery without compromising environmental outcomes.


T


STREAMLINING DOES NOT HAVE TO MEAN WEAKENING BIODIVERSITY NET GAIN


WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK


here is no question that the planning system requires more speed and more certainty – and much of what the


Government has put in place in the last year is on track to achieve this.


But while, on a macro level, planning reform is heading in the right direction, for those of us dealing with planning applications day-in, day-out, it’s the small procedural frictions that cause the biggest frustrations. The requirement for local planning authorities to approve pre-commencement conditions for biodiversity net gain (BNG) is perhaps one of the most important to unpick. BNG is doing exactly what it was designed to do: placing nature recovery at the heart of (almost) all development. The problem is how it is being sequenced. The current approach requires an extra post-consent approval step that can cause material delays. If government wants a simple win that supports both nature recovery and delivery, it should focus on streamlining


the pre-commencement mechanics of BNG.


HOW THE PROBLEM MANIFESTS ITSELF I recently gained planning consent for a mid-sied greenfi eld housing scheme in Oxfordshire. Planning consent was issued within three months. The BNG solution, which was offsite, was straightforward: the units were purchased and the certifi cate submitted, yet eight weeks after consent we were still waiting for the BNG approval outcome. The knock-on effect is delays to housing delivery, including affordable housing, and to wider economic activity.


Where a scheme has already secured offsite units, the local authority is not being asked to weigh up competing habitat proposals or negotiate a bespoke ecological strategy; the developer is presenting a package that is designed to be compliant. Yet the statutory framework still requires a formal approval period before the condition is discharged and commencement can take place lawfully.


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