Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to introduce exemptions for protected horticultural growers within the biodiversity net gain regulations.

The Government recognises the importance of horticultural growers. Land used for horticulture can be enhanced or created to generate biodiversity units, which can support site expansion or be sold on the private market or used to support on site expansion. Equally, any impacts to horticultural land through development or land use change require compensation.

Following consultation, exemptions to the BNG requirement set out within the regulations are narrow and focussed. This keeps the policy ambitious, whilst being proportionate and deliverable for developers and local authorities. The exemptions are not sector specific.

Defra are ready to work with the horticulture industry to promote best practice for maximising on-site BNG opportunities.