Unsurprising Budget Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) reforms – Residential brownfield developments on sites up to 1.5 hectares in England are being exempted from BNG requirements.

Good that the Government's ‘brownfield-first’ ambition directly supports the delivery of new homes, as the urban mosaic category was posing a real issue, though still a question for sites over 1.5 ha. In parallel, confirmed that BNG will become mandatory for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects from November 2026.