Current projects

Biodiversity

Purpose

To equip developers with the precise guidance, technical information, and practical tools needed to design, plan, and implement mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements successfully, predictably, and seamlessly across all sites.



We collaborate directly with cross-sector partners representing every facet of nature recovery to provide the necessary support to overcome barriers to successful implementation.

Context

The Government enforces Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) as a mandatory condition for securing planning permission for new developments in England. All applicable planning applications must actively demonstrate that the development achieves the statutory 10% biodiversity net gain target.



In line with the updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF, 2026), any local uplifts on this 10% standard will now be restricted, unless exceptionally justified in up-to-date site allocations.


Following recent regulatory refinements (August 2026), mandatory BNG applies to all applicable planning applications in England, with small sites under 0.2 hectares broadly exempt. The core objective of BNG remains unchanged: ensuring the housebuilding sector delivers the new homes the country needs while simultaneously protecting, restoring, and improving our natural environment.


Find out more about the benefits of BNG.

Active Projects & Sector Outputs

  • The BNG Implementation Board, meeting quarterly, is co-chaired by Defra and industry leaders. This established board facilitates cross-sector collaboration between developers, local authorities, and key government bodies. The board actively monitors deployment of BNG by providing a ‘temperature check’ of how legislation and policy guidance is being implemented on the ground, across different types and scale of development. By pulling together different voices from industry the Board, and associated activities including an Implementation Group focused on Offsite Markets and a Community of Practice working group, the Hub is focused on helping to build planning confidence, unblock systemic planning friction, and support policy evolution by identifying and collating evidence on key issues for government and the sector to address.
  • Practical Industry Guidance & Toolkits: Working with Defra, Natural England, and the Planning Advisory Service (PAS), we develop simple, ‘how to’ guidance on what developers need to do to comply successfully. This includes the interactive BNG Good Practice Guide to simplify on-site compliance workflows and keep land appraisals predictable.
  • BNG Offsite Markets & BNG Unit Finder: In partnership with Natural England, we provide a forum for developer members to bring forward their experiences of with offsite markets, and we are focused on supporting due diligence around identifying quality units for offsite delivery of BNG. We also host an independent, non-commercial platform - Biodiversity Unit Finder Map - to link developers with verified off-site habitat banks.
  • Homes for Nature Commitment: Beyond supporting compliance with statutory minimums and launching ahead of the recent changes in the NPPF (2026), the Hub created a voluntary initiative for developers to commit to making space for nature to thrive in their developments. Over 30 major housebuilders—representing 100,000+ annual home completions—are currently committed to securing wildlife measures like integral nest boxes for swifts and hedgehog ‘highways’ on every completed development.

Timeline & Continuous Evolution

While BNG initially represented a structural shift in the planning landscape, it is now an integrated reality for the housebuilding sector.



The Future Homes Hub's forward work programme is continuously shaped by stakeholder feedback to tackle emerging issues, through the work of the BNG Implementation Board, one of the working groups e.g. BNG Offsite Markets group, or through a temporary working group focused on a specific aspect of BNG e.g. the Hub recently hosted a workshop with industry with government bodies to explore implementation of BNG across large, multi-phased development

Outputs

View the BNG Process Flow

Intended to provide guidance on the steps required to implement BNG on residential projects of all sizes and complexities.


View the Biodiversity Unit Finder

An independent, free-to-use platform to help homebuilders and other developers connect with landowners, land managers and others developing and selling biodiversity units near your site.


View the Biodiversity offsets checklist

This checklist helps with the assessment of biodiversity offsets in the absence of a Section 106 agreement, Conservation Covenant and/or Biodiversity Gain Site Registration.


View guidance on Biodiversity Net Gain

An overview of BNG to help developers better understand when, where and how it is applied at different scales, and for different types of development.

Members of the Community of Practice group

The Hub hosts a ‘Community of Practice’, open to non-members, to share knowledge and offer an open forum for discussing and resolving BNG challenges.