From time to time, the Government will update the BNG metric. Sometimes LPA officers believe that only the updated metric is valid. This is not correct. Under the BNG rules, old versions of the metric remain valid. The Joe's Blooms tool will update as soon as a new version of the metric is released, but sometimes there is a short lag between the release of a new metric and the BNG tool being updated.

Step One

Save the following clarifications from HM Government and Natural England and, respectfully, draw the LPA officer's attention to them. You may also wish to point out to the officer that the Government has made clear that "You can use any version of the statutory metric tools for BNG calculations. Updates will not affect biodiversity unit outputs."