Biodiversity net gain: exempt developments
Publication Year
2026
Document Status
Current
Abstract
Outlines the types of development that will be exempt from biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements.
Document History
Last updated: 14 July 2026 - Updated to clarify that any existing planning applications made before 12 February 2024 are exempt from biodiversity net gain (BNG), including small developments. Explained that for variations of planning permission, where the original planning permission was not in scope of BNG, mandatory BNG will not apply to future variations. Also makes clear the exemption for developments subject to the ‘de minimis’ rule, adding a link to the list of priority habitats and species in England. Adds that self-build and custom build applications made after 6 August 2026 are no longer exempt from BNG rules with he new exemption for planning applications for developments of 0.2 hectares or below and temporary developments being in place from 6 August 2026. Sourced from: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/biodiversity-net-gain-exempt-developments and converted to pdf. Whilst we endeavour to capture all updates it is subject to receiving alerts from the publisher and there may be formatting or punctuation changes applied to the html version that do not affect the text. Document type: guidance. First published: 29 November 2023.
Publisher Information
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is a UK Government department. They are committed to tackling climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and work to secure a healthy, resilient, productive and diverse natural environment. This work has formerly been carried out by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department of the Environment.
