Middlesborough’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.

Middlesborough’s pre-application advice service can be found here.

Middlesborough is part of the Tees Valley Local Nature Recovery Strategy. Information can be found here.

Specific BNG requirements are set out in Policy 6.27 of the Local Plan (adopted January 2024).

National planning policy states that development should deliver a net gain in biodiversity. The Environment Act 2021 sets out a mandatory requirement for development to deliver at least a 10% biodiversity net gain and approval of a biodiversity net gain plan. Biodiversity net gain means leaving the natural environment in a measurably better state than before, and is central to delivering nature’s recovery and increasing stocks of natural capital. Net gain should deliver genuine additional improvements for biodiversity by creating or enhancing habitats in association with development. Such improvements should go beyond any required mitigation and/or compensation measures following the application of the mitigation hierarchy. As part of delivering net gains for nature, development proposals will be expected to protect, provide and extend green and blue infrastructure in accordance with Policy GR1 Green and Blue Infrastructure. Biodiversity net gain can be achieved on-site, offsite or through a combination of on-site and off-site measures, or, as a last resort, through the purchase of statutory biodiversity credits. Development proposals can, for example, provide a net gain in biodiversity on-site through the enhancement of the existing features of the site, the creation of additional habitats or the linking of existing habitats to reduce fragmentation in the local ecological network.

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