What once might have been a nice-to-have in terms of a real estate project’s environmental impact will soon be a must-have. From November, any commercial development will be subject to a planning condition requiring developers to show how they can increase biodiversity onsite by at least 10%. It marks the first time such a requirement will be statutory rather than voluntary.

At UKREiiF, EG deputy editor Tim Burke sat down with Alexa Culver, general counsel at Environment Bank, and Ben Stansfield, partner at Gowling WLG, to discuss the new biodiversity net gain regulation, the challenges developers will face in factoring the new requirements into their planning proposals, and how an initiative from Environment Bank could give developers – and landowners – a new opportunity.