Biodiversity Net Gain and the small developer
The UK planning system keeps shifting the goalposts, and small developers carry the cost. What BNG means for Project Garden Quarter.
The UK planning system keeps shifting the goalposts, and small developers carry the cost.
From 6 August 2026, new Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) rules are officially in effect. While the Government introduced a 0.2-hectare cut-off to cut red tape, the real story is what happens if your plot hits 0.21 hectares: you face the exact same 10% target, 30-year maintenance plans and ecologist fees as a multi-million-pound corporate housing scheme.
The paradox at Project Garden Quarter
We bought an unutilised plot of land that had turned into a complete greenery jungle. The vision is to build 18 premium homes. BNG legislation requires us to leave the site’s ecosystem 10% better than we found it.
When you buy a concrete plot, adding 10% nature is straightforward. When you buy a dense, wild jungle, your ecological starting baseline is already through the roof. Trying to fit 18 houses onto the land while increasing its overall biodiversity by 10% is incredibly complex.
How we are tackling it
- Collaborating heavily with expert ecologists to remap our approach
- Rethinking our site optimisation to get the most ecological value out of every part of the site
- Weighing up a few different strategies to navigate the regulations
We don’t shy away from the hard parts of the process, because navigating the friction is exactly what makes a development successful.
