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Planning: Nature Conservation

Asked by Noah LawLabourDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled Answered 10 February 2026UIN 111044

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure the widest set of projects as part of biodiversity net-gain calculations.

Answered by Mary Creagh

Biodiversity net gain (BNG) applies to every planning permission in England granted under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, unless exempted. The Government has announced plans to remove BNG requirements for sites under 0.2 hectares, and that BNG will apply to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects from May this year.

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