Waltham Forest’s BNG level is set at 10%.

The NPPF states: "applicants are encouraged to consider biodiversity net gain early in the development process and factor it into site selection and design. Where appropriate, they should discuss the biodiversity net gain requirements for their development upfront with the relevant local planning authority utilising any pre-application advice services offered by them. This could help establish whether development proposals would be subject to biodiversity net gain and, if they are, enable feedback on the proposed strategy for achieving the biodiversity gain objective and consideration of the Biodiversity Gain Hierarchy to inform the design of the proposals"

Please note, If you work for the LPA and wish to add additional information, please inform the Joe's Blooms team here.

Waltham Forest’s pre-application advice service can be foundhere.

Waltham Forest is part of the Greater London Local Nature Recovery Strategy. Information can be foundhere.

Specific BNG requirements are set out in Policy 17.23 of theLocal Plan (adopted February 2024).

Where planning permission is granted, planning conditions will ensure that appropriate measures are taken to protect and enhance biodiversity where it may be impacted by development. Measures to recover or relocate habitats should only be a last resort with a preference for the protection and enhancement of existing habitats on site wherever possible. Proposals must accommodate the mitigation hierarchy set out in London Plan Policy G6 'Biodiversity and access to nature', and demonstrate biodiversity net gain using the Natural England Biodiversity Metric (or agreed equivalent) in order to promote wider environmental net gain. The principle of biodiversity net gain requires developers to ensure habitats for wildlife are enhanced and left in a measurably better state than they were pre-development. The start of the process is a robust assessment of the existing habitat typology and its condition before submitting plans. Employing the Natural England Biodiversity Metric, improvements to biodiversity have to be demonstrated. These improvements may include, for example, the creation of green corridors, increased tree planting, or enhancing existing habitat in open spaces as set out in the Green and Blue Spaces and Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs).

N/A