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Back in May, we wrote to confirm that the Government was considering changes to Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), article here, which might bring positives to a planning system some feel is unnecessarily complicated and protracted.

The Government have announced that planning applications made on or after 6th August 2026 for sites measuring 0.2 hectares or below will be exempt from BNG, provided that no onsite priority habitat is negatively impacted, which should help the smaller developers. Please note that the exemption relates to the total site area and not just the developable area.

We are also expecting the existing de minimus exemption to still apply in its current form. This exemption can be used where less than 25 m² of habitat, or less than 5m of hedgerow, is impacted by the development. It is worth mentioning that if a planning application is submitted prior to the new exemptions being published, then the planning application will be subject to BNG rules at the time of submission. New BNG exemptions will therefore not be applied retrospectively and an application to remove the BNG condition from a decision notice through a variation of condition application will not be permitted.

In other news, Central Bedfordshire Council is consulting on the sites submitted as part of its ‘Call for Sites’ process. This will help decide which sites are to be included within its new Local Plan, which will shape Central Bedfordshire to 2050. Please also read Hugo’s article about how we can assist you with the Call for Sites process here. If you have any land or wish to know which sites have been submitted for consultation, please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss.

Talking of Call for Sites, Bedford Borough Council has started its Call for Sites exercise and this runs until 30^th October 2026. Please do let us know if you wish to have your land included.