Biodiversity Net Gain - Survey Results and Consultation Response

In February 2024, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) become mandatory for major sites followed by small sites in April 2024. The purpose of BNG is to support biodiversity in England and reduce habitat and species losses by 2030.

The landscaping industry is uniquely placed to support BNG delivery as the industry that will be doing the majority of planting, management, and maintenance for most projects. We put forward a survey to our members to better inform our policy work and discovered that the overall view of the role of BNG and supporting biodiversity is widely welcomed by our members.

• 24% of respondents are well versed in BNG, with a further 59% knowing some things about BNG
• 93% of respondents are interested in being involved in BNG projects going forward
• 46% have engaged with BNG in a business capacity and would like to continue to do so
• 49% have not engaged with BNG in a business capacity but would like to
• Of those that have not engaged with BNG, the biggest barrier is a lack of skills or knowledge within their business (45%), followed by the development sites being exempt (23%)

The full results of the BALI member survey can be found here https://www.bali.org.uk/help-and-advice/documents/biodiversity-net-gain-member-views/bali-biodivers…

BALI has responded to a Defra consultation on assessing potential changes to the BNG process for small sites, including reviewing exemptions, the small sites metric, the biodiversity gain hierarchy, and brownfield sites.  (Link to the consultation here)