New planning applications for car dealership developments or extensions will shortly have to provide a minimum 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) to achieve planning permission, unless the scheme proposed is below 25 sq metres (269 sq ft) of habitat or less than 5 metres of linear habitat (e.g. hedgerow).

What is Biodiversity Net Gain?

BNG can be defined as a development that leaves biodiversity in a measurably better state than before. Under the Environment Act 2021, there will be a national requirement to deliver at least 10% BNG on all developments when introduced in January 2024, albeit some Local Planning Authorities already have their own local standards for BNG which can be higher than the emerging national requirement.

All new developments will have to provide a BNG Assessment with their planning application detailing how the 10% uplift will be delivered.

How is BNG calculated?

BNG will be calculated using the most recent version of DEFRAs Biodiversity Metric, currently version 4.0. This will be used across England to quantify habitat loss and gain.

Delivering BNG wholly on-site will be the priority. Consequently, off-site provision or credits can provide a means  of complying with requirements whilst enabling development. The costs of this will be dependant on location and type of habitat to be replaced.

The statutory credits system on the government website details indicative BNG costs such as individual trees at £42,000. Whilst confirmed pricing will be published when BNG becomes mandatory, it is likely that statutory credits will represent the benchmark value to encourage applicants to deliver biodiversity improvements on site or find sites locally as a priority.

What does this mean for car dealerships?

Whilst BNG requirements will be site specific and depend on local habitat requirements, new dealership developments will need to deliver a 10% uplift in BNG. This could be achieved through measures such as additional landscaping or green roofs. In order to meet the 10% requirement on-site, it could lead to a reduction in the developable area or vehicle display/ parking, or require larger sites. Any conflicts between BNG requirements and Manufacturer brand standards will require careful management.

Most car dealership developments tend to be on brownfield sites (existing developments) which is likely to have a lower BNG baseline position than say an undeveloped green field. However, allowance will still need to be made for 10% uplift which may conflict with more urban / dense proposals that do not have capacity to accommodate habitat creation. If 10% BNG cannot be delivered on site, then off-site provision will be required. This may involve car dealers, typically in urban areas, entering into agreements on other parcels of land, ideally in the same Local Authority area as the proposed development site, to provide the 10% BNG. The use of statutory credits from the Government will be a last resort.

BNG will impact all new development and early consideration is required in order to assess the impact of the design of schemes and the potential cost implications to both on-site and off-site delivery.

The Government is expecting to publish additional legislation on BNG and its future management in November 2024. Please note that planning applications already submitted and pending determination prior to the introduction of BNG in January will not be impacted.