From 2 November 2026, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) becomes mandatory for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) in England.
It’s another important step in the evolution of BNG. Some of the country’s biggest infrastructure projects will join housing and commercial developments already delivering mandatory BNG, broadening the range and scale of development contributing to habitat creation and restoration.
For landowners, it could bring new opportunities for the right land to play a part. With major infrastructure projects able to consider on-site and off-site habitat delivery from the outset, habitat banks could have an important role to play. These projects can have different and potentially larger BNG requirements, creating opportunities to think about habitat at a landscape scale and strengthen connections with nature around it.
For developers already navigating BNG, it’s another sign of a market continuing to mature. As demand broadens, having the right habitats available in the right places will matter. Thinking about BNG early gives teams more options and more time to find the right fit for their development.
And there’s a bigger picture here too. Bringing major infrastructure into BNG has the potential to create and restore more habitat, connect landscapes and extend nature recovery across some of the places experiencing the greatest change.
Our growing network of habitat banks is already creating and restoring habitats across England, connecting landowners with developments that need locally relevant BNG.
If you’d like to understand more about what this next phase of BNG could mean in practice, our team is always happy to talk.