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Barking and Dagenham, London

Biodiversity net gain plans in Barking and Dagenham

A biodiversity net gain plan for a Barking and Dagenham site is only needed when an exemption does not cover it. Extensions and lofts to an existing home are exempt. A new home on a larger plot is not, and the council then asks for a gain of 10% (statutory) shown in a metric file. We give a fixed quote after a free constraints check, and say first whether you need the plan at all.

Fixed quote after a free constraints check

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    Architectural model of a four-storey London stucco townhouse in its terrace, with a portico, area railings, sash windows, a cornice and chimney stacks
    The house as it stands: four storeys over a lower ground floor.Existing Proposed worksAn illustrative model, built for this page.

    How we work on biodiversity net gain plans

    Seven steps from first call to approval.

    The same model cut through the middle: every floor, the stair, the chimney breasts, the new mansard, rear extension and basement in section
    Section through the model: every floor on one datum.

    1. Enquiry and constraints check

      We check the property against conservation areas, listed status, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, flood zone and planning history. We choose the right route and send a fixed quote.

    2. Measured survey

      We survey the house on one datum: rooms, levels, boundaries, drains, trees and the neighbours' windows that the 45° and 25° tests depend on.

    3. Design options

      We model the house in Revit and show you options in 3D and plan, with the planning strategy and the precedents in your street.

    4. Design frozen

      You choose an option in writing. Nothing changes after this without your say.

    5. Independent check

      A second chartered technologist checks every sheet against the council's validation checklist and the policy. A senior review signs it off before anything is submitted.

    6. Submission

      We prepare the forms, certificates, fee and documents and submit through the Planning Portal.

    7. Officer liaison

      We answer the planning officer and make any amendments within five working days, at no charge until approval.

    Free redraws until approval. Every drawing set is checked independently, and the checker is never the person who drew it.

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    Brick cottage with a tiled roof, chimneys and a front dormer window

    What Barking and Dagenham asks for in a biodiversity net gain plan

    The council's full planning validation checklist, in its February edition, lists a net gain report for every scheme that is not exempt. It must come from a suitably qualified independent ecologist, use the national metrics, and arrive with the statutory metric file in its latest version and with no red-box errors. The checklist records the target as 10% (statutory), and we found no higher local figure.

    That detail about red-box errors matters more than it sounds. A metric spreadsheet that flags an inconsistency, such as a habitat condition that does not suit its type, can hold up validation even when the report reads well. We run the file past a second pair of eyes before it leaves us, because a rejected submission costs weeks.

    The checklist also expects a plan of the habitats on site, so officers can match each parcel in the spreadsheet to something they can see on the drawing. Our new build drawings carry that layout as a separate sheet rather than burying it in the landscaping notes.

    Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared roofline

    Local figures for Barking and Dagenham

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Green Belt share of the council area14 % of council area covered by green-belt polygons—planning.data.gov.uk
    BNG report required for all development unless exempt: prepared by a suitably qualified independent ecologist using the national metrics, showing how a net gain of 10% will be achieved, with the statutory biodiversity metric file (latest published version, no red-box errors). The 10% is the statutory figure; no higher local figure found.10% (statutory)—lbbd.gov.uk, LBBD Validation Checklist - Full Planning Permission (February 2026), p.7, 'Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) Report'; screening statement p.2
    Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005)22.8 % of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005)2005data.london.gov.uk
    Households living in a house68.8 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Householder applications granted66.5 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Local plan adopted2,024—lbbd.gov.uk
    Environment Act 2021 Sch 14 para 2, inserting Sch 7A TCPA 1990: 'relevant percentage' 10%10 %—legislation.gov.uk
    Sch 7A para 9(3) as inserted: enhancement maintained for at least 30 years after completion30 years—legislation.gov.uk
    'Developments of 0.2 hectares or below': from 6 August 2026 BNG does not apply where the site area within the red line boundary is 0.2 ha or below0.2 ha—gov.uk
    'Developments subject to the de minimis rule': impact on less than 25 m2 (5 m by 5 m) of on-site habitat25 m2—gov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Councils bordering Barking and Dagenham
    Which application your project needsLawful Development Certificate decision: 8 weeks. Prior approval decision: 42 days. Householder decision: 8 weeksYour projectWithin permitted development?Lawful Development CertificatePrior approvalHouseholder applicationYesLarger rear extensionNoABC

    Which application your project needs

    The usual route for a house; flats and listed buildings follow other rules.

    A · Lawful Development Certificate decision
    8 weeks
    B · Prior approval decision
    42 days
    C · Householder decision
    8 weeks

    Gardens and estates: where the habitat actually is

    Domestic gardens make up 22.8 per cent of the borough's land in the national land-use survey, and 68.8 per cent of households live in a house or bungalow. Most of the habitat a developer disturbs here is therefore lawn, border and hedge in a back garden, with the occasional mature tree.

    The Becontree Estate, which has its own design code, shows the pattern clearly. Long runs of near-identical homes sit on regular plots, so a scheme that adds a house at the end of a terrace or in a deep rear garden removes the same kind of habitat each time. The baseline is usually modest grassland, and the plan is usually about how to give back more than was taken.

    14 per cent of the borough is mapped as Green Belt, mostly towards the edges, so a minority of sites also carry the extra scrutiny that comes with open land.

    When the rules reach a Barking and Dagenham home

    The national exemptions do most of the work for ordinary homeowners. Householder applications are exempt, and so is anything granted by a development order such as permitted development. Sites of 0.2 hectares or below have also been exempt since this summer.

    Below that, the de minimis rule applies where less than 25 square metres of habitat, or less than 5 metres of hedgerow, is affected.

    So the cases that do need a plan here are a new dwelling on a plot larger than the small-site threshold, or a larger scheme that no exemption covers. For most owners the useful result of our free check is a clear no, with the wording to put on the application form.

    How the borough decides, and why that affects timing

    In the latest returns the council decided 388 householder applications and granted 66.5 per cent of them. Householder schemes carry no gain condition, so the number matters less for a plan than for the drawings behind it, but it is a reminder that officers here read applications closely.

    The Local Plan was adopted in 2,024 and the borough's extensions guidance sits beside it. Where a gain condition does apply it is a pre-commencement condition, so the plan has to be agreed before work starts, not merely before permission. We prepare it alongside the planning set so the two arrive together.

    If you are weighing the whole route, our planning consultant service sequences the application and its conditions.

    Price and next step

    A plan has no list price, because the cost follows the number of habitat parcels and whether off-site units are needed. You receive a fixed quote after a free constraints check, which also covers the exemption statement for the application form.

    Send the address and a sketch. Our biodiversity net gain service page explains the national rules in full, and the Barking and Dagenham area page lists every service we offer in the borough.

    What you receive

    Planning drawing sheet for a rear extension with plans, elevations and sections
    Sample drawing. Planning drawings for a rear extension: plans, elevations and sections on one sheet set.
    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Other services in Barking and Dagenham

    Biodiversity net gain plans nearby

    Questions

    Does my Barking and Dagenham extension need a biodiversity net gain plan?

    No. Householder applications and permitted development are exempt, though the application form must still say that the condition does not apply and why.

    What does the council expect from the metric file?

    The February edition of the checklist asks for the latest published version of the statutory metric, with no red-box errors, prepared by an independent ecologist.

    Is the target higher than the national figure here?

    No. The checklist records 10% (statutory) and no higher local figure.

    How long must the gain be maintained?

    For at least 30 years after completion.

    Sources and dates

    City of London skyline glowing at dusk across the Thames under a dramatic orange sky

    Tell us about your property.

    We check the constraints, then send a fixed fee. Messages before 3pm get a reply the same working day.

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