Construction and built environment leaders have warned that scrapping biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements for small sites could undermine nature recovery and long-term value.
In an open letter coordinated by the Green Construction Board (GCB) and UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), more than 140 signatories have called for the government to adopt a more proportionate approach to reform, rather than the proposed blanket exemption for small sites.
The letter stresses the recent findings of the Environmental Audit Committee, showing that nature is not a blocker to housing growth. Instead, it highlights that well-designed nature policy can instead support delivery, improve quality of life, and enhance long-term property asset value.
The signatories – representing developers, contractors, consultants, ecologists, engineers, financiers, planners, academics, land managers, and membership and professional bodies – recommend alternatives such as a 0.1-hectare area-based exemption threshold, rather than the proposed one hectare threshold.
The coalition warns that a blanket exemption for small sites would risk undermining nature recovery at scale, penalising businesses that have already invested in delivering BNG, and weaken confidence in the emerging nature markets that are beginning to unlock private investment in habitat restoration and recovery.
‘Negative long-term legacy’
Martina Girvan, chair of the GCB’s Biodiversity and Environmental Net Gain Group, said small sites often offer valuable opportunities to deliver cooling, flood mitigation and health and wellbeing benefits through green infrastructure, even at a modest scale.
“Removing BNG from these sites risks embedding poorer outcomes for communities and missed opportunities to enhance the quality of places where people; risking a negative long-term legacy that neither residents or businesses want,” Girvan said.
David Pinder, chair of the GCB, added that the industry does not view BNG as anti-growth.
“Proportionate and practical solutions exist,” Pinder said. “A 0.1-hectare exemption would reduce complexity for the smallest schemes without undermining nature recovery, investor confidence or the businesses that have committed to doing the right thing. A blanket exemption would be a backwards step for nature, markets and long-term value.”
The letter highlights that BNG is a central pillar of the GCB’s Biodiversity Roadmap for the sector, published by the Construction Leadership Council.
The signatories caution that weakening BNG through wide-ranging exemptions would contradict these commitments and undermine the UK’s leadership in mobilising private finance for nature recovery.
