Homes for Nature expands to apartments under Biodiversity Net Gain drive

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The Future Homes Hub has expanded its Homes for Nature initiative to include high‑rise apartment schemes, introducing new guidance specifically tailored for multi‑unit residential buildings. This guidance encourages integration of biodiversity measures such as universal non‑combustible nest‑bricks, hedgehog highways, pollinator planting, and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) within apartment developments.

Since its launch in September 2024, Homes for Nature has called on developers to go beyond the statutory Biodiversity Net Gain requirement, committing to installing one bird‑nesting brick or box per new home, creating hedgehog highways on every development, and encouraging additional nature features like bat roosts, insect bricks, hibernacula, pollinator‑friendly landscaping, and nature‑led SuDS. The extension to apartments reflects the growing proportion of new homes being delivered in this format and underscores the importance of ensuring nature recovery at all built‑form levels

Participation in the Homes for Nature initiative already includes 28 homebuilder organisations representing over 100,000 new homes annually; the programme is projected to deliver at minimum 300,000 nesting bricks and boxes over its duration. Moreover, the initiative is now supported in national planning policy, with guidance urging development proposals to include swift bricks, bat boxes, hedgehog highways, and other nature‑supporting measures.

This expansion marks a milestone in aligning housing growth with biodiversity recovery, making it easier for developers to deliver homes that benefit both people and wildlife regardless of building height. Moving nature‑inclusive design from houses to apartments facilitates broader urban biodiversity gains, contributing to nature‑positive neighbourhoods.

This development builds on the Future Homes Hub’s earlier work to simplify Biodiversity Net Gain implementation; their June 2025 BNG Good Practice Guide provides a practical, on‑site checklist and real‑world case studies to support developers, including SMEs, in delivering net gain effectively. The Hub also established a cross‑sector Biodiversity Net Gain Implementation Board to address challenges and support implementation at scale.

BNG became mandatory for large sites from 12 February 2024 and for small sites from 2 April 2024, requiring developments to deliver a net increase of at least 10 % in biodiversity to secure planning permission. The Future Homes Hub’s ongoing efforts aim to provide developers with actionable tools, guidance, and collaboration platforms to meet this requirement seamlessly.

What this means:
The inclusion of apartments in the Homes for Nature commitment represents a significant shift in embedding biodiversity recovery across all housing typologies. Developers now have clearer guidance and stronger policy backing to integrate nature‑positive features into multi‑unit residential projects. This reflects an evolution in how the built environment can support declining urban wildlife and contribute more broadly to nature recovery. Through practical tools like the BNG Good Practice Guide and the support of the Implementation Board, the Hub is enabling more scalable, consistent delivery of biodiversity outcomes alongside housing growth.

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