Written questions

Biodiversity: Property Development

Commons · Question 108111 · Tabled 23 Jan 2026 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Official record

Answered 30 Jan 2026

Question

Asked by Zöe Franklin

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increasing the biodiversity net gain de minimis threshold from 0.1 hectares to 0.5 hectares on nature recovery.

Answer

Answered by Mary Creagh, 30 Jan 2026

The Government recently consulted on options to improve the way Biodiversity Net Gain works for small, medium and brownfield development. This included potential changes to the de minimis exemption threshold, which currently sits at 25 square metres. Sinc...