New Guidance Empowers Homebuilders with Biodiversity Net Gain Best Practice

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A practical new resource from the Future Homes Hub simplifies Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), offering clarity and actionable steps for on-site implementation. Launched in June 2025, the BNG Good Practice Guide provides homebuilders with a user-friendly checklist and bespoke guidance, helping them navigate the requirements and avoid costly delays. Drawing on real-world experiences, it brings together insights from professionals actively delivering BNG, making the process more accessible especially for SMEs. The Hub argues this tool supports nature recovery while promoting sustainable financing, resilient infrastructure and healthier communities. The Implementation Board, co-chaired by representatives from government and industry, continues to drive collaboration to overcome implementation challenges.

BNG has become mandatory for development in England. As of February 12, 2024, large sites must demonstrate at least a 10% net gain in biodiversity, with small sites following on April 2, 2024. Developers must conduct baseline surveys and prepare a biodiversity gain plan that follows the mitigation hierarchy and delivers measurable gains on-site or through registered units or credits. In some cases, planning authorities may require gains above the 10% minimum.

The Future Homes Hub is also deepening its support for developers through ongoing activity. Its Community of Practice Group, working with designers, developers, planners and policymakers, focuses on process consistency, including guidance on baseline surveys and on-site BNG delivery. The BNG Implementation Board meets regularly; its April 2025 quarterly meeting identified key focus areas for the coming months, including navigating conflicts between BNG and other national nature recovery policies.

In another significant development, the ‘‘Homes for Nature’’ initiative has expanded guidance to include apartments through a new appendix released in July 2025. The updated guidance specifies measures such as nest bricks, hedgehog highways, pollinator planting and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) tailored for high-rise developments. The initiative developed alongside environmental NGOs requires participating developers to install at least one bird nesting unit per home and include hedgehog pathways, with further nature-led measures encouraged. To date, 28 homebuilders representing over 100,000 new homes annually have joined, promising at least 300,000 nesting units by 2030. The initiative is now referenced in government planning policy guidance for the natural environment.

These developments reflect growing momentum around integrating biodiversity into the fabric of new developments. The BNG Good Practice Guide equips homebuilders with actionable steps, while the Implementation Board and the Homes for Nature initiative reinforce the sector’s commitment to go beyond minimum regulatory thresholds. Together, they signal a shift toward developments that serve people and nature alike.

What this means:
The new guidance and expanded support structures signal a maturing of biodiversity integration in housing development. Homebuilders now have clarity on mandatory BNG compliance, supported by practical tools and governance structures offering ongoing guidance. The Homes for Nature initiative shows how biodiversity measures can be embedded even in high-density developments letting nature thrive where people live. As the sector continues to align growth with ecological stewardship, this integrated approach could become the standard for net-zero housing in the UK.

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