New BNG Exemptions to apply from 6 August 2026

As I may have mentioned before, mid-July is a popular time for Government announcements. This year looks to be no exception to that rule.

Yesterday, the government laid The Biodiversity Gain (Town and Country Planning) (Amendments and Transitional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2026 before parliament. The regulations take effect on 6 August 2026.

The regulations make four changes to the BNG Regime, that DEFRA foreshadowed in the department’s April 2026 consultation response.

Namely:

1. Amending the biodiversity gain hierarchy for development which is not major development (small development) to place onsite habitat enhancement and creation on the same preference level as registered offsite biodiversity gains (see Part 2 of the Regulations).
2. Removing the specific exemption for small-scale self and custom-build housing on sites of up to 0.5 hectares (see Part 3, Reg 3(b) of the Regulations)
3. Introducing two new exemptions into the BNG regime (see Part 3, Reg 3(a) of the Regulations):
   • An exemption for small sites of up to 0.2 hectares where the development does not impact on an on-site priority habitat; and
   • An exemption for temporary development that a) does not impact any onsite priority habitat and b) where the development is removed and the land reinstated within a period not exceeding 5 years.

The new exemptions do not apply to:

• Planning applications made before 6 August 2026
• s.73 Permissions where the original permission to which the s.73 permission relates was applied for or granted before 6 August 2026; and
• In respect of the Temporary Permissions Exemption, where a series of planning permissions have been granted for the same temporary development and, when combined, the period within which the development would be removed and the land reinstated across all of the consents exceeds 5 years

The transitional provisions (set out below), make it clear that these changes are not retrospective. In particular, the current exemption for self and custom build housing can continue to be relied on in relation to qualifying self -build and custom build planning applications submitted before 6 August 2026.