Biodiversity Net Gain and Local Nature Recovery Strategies

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is a strategy to develop land and contribute to the recovery of nature. It is a way of making sure the habitat for wildlife is in a better state than it was before development. It will be become mandatory for major planning applications in January 2024 and for many other planning applications later in the year. For the latest on BNG please see the biodiversity net gain page on the GOV.UK website

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) are strategies that propose how and where to recover nature and improve the wider natural environment across England.

Both BNG and LNRS are legal requirements under the Environment Act 2021 which will help achieve the Council's strengthened legal obligation to both enhance as well as conserve biodiversity.

Through Cambridgeshire County Council and supporting local authorities, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) are currently preparing an LNRS for this area which should be completed in late 2024. Off-site BNG proposals will need to have regard to the LNRS.

With the assistance of the BCN Wildlife Trust and Natural England an Interim Nature Recovery Network (NRN) report has been produced for Fenland. This identifies potential priority areas for improvement, interim strategic locations where off-site BNG should be provided, and will be used to inform the CPCA's emerging LNRS. It also provides evidence for a wider Green Infrastructure Strategy for Fenland which will inform policies in the emerging Local Plan. The Interim NRN can be found here:  Fenland Interim Nature Recovery Network Final - July 2023 (PDF) [5MB]