6 min read | October 15, 2024

What are the BNG rules around Aerodromes?

Near aerodromes, applicants must ensure that their actions fulfil the biodiversity objective and promote aviation safety.

What are the BNG rules around Aerodromes?

There are specific rules that certain sites have to consider when undertaking Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). Nowhere is this truer than when a development site is near an aerodrome, where applicants have to make sure that their actions don’t just fulfil the biodiversity objective, but must also ensure that they do so in a way that promotes aviation safety.

When aircraft are involved, there are – unsurprisingly – additional things that an applicant needs to take into account, not least the fact that certain habitats can increase the risk of bird strikes.

The National Planning Practice Guidance states:

“where a development is located within the bird strike consultation area of an Officially Safeguarded Aerodrome (a 13km circle depicted on a safeguarding map), the local planning authority should consult the relevant aerodrome operator. The creation of significant onsite habitat enhancements to support the biodiversity gain objective for developments near aerodromes could cause greater risk of wildlife strike if the enhancement includes wildlife attractant features.”

So what does this all mean? In a nutshell, it means three things:

  • Consider whether there are any aerodromes within 13km of the site. There are a few resources that you can use to do this.
  • If there are any aerodromes, try to consider options that are less likely to attract birds. In such cases, off-sites may be a sensible first option.
  • Engage with the LPA who, in turn, should engage with the aerodrome.

Taking these sensible steps helps to ensure aviation safety and allows biodiversity to continue to be considered in all new developments. If an applicant is determined to undertake on-site enhancements, they will need to provide sufficient detail of the proposed habitat enhancements to enable proper consideration of the impact on aviation safety.

Over the coming weeks, we will add extra functionality into our tools to help automate this process and encourage best practice but – for now – the best thing you can do is to take into account the above points, engage with both LPA officers and aerodrome operators and make sure that BNG is undertaken in a sensible, safe way.

Bird strikes are a risk to aircraft at aerodromes. Ensuring that people do everything that can be done to reduce this risk is clearly of the upmost importance.

Oliver Lewis

Oliver Lewis

Founder of Joe’s Blooms
LinkedIn icon

Oliver Lewis is the founder of Joe’s Blooms, providing end-to-end digital solutions to help you create best-in-class Biodiversity Gain Plans. Expert in this field, he shares his knowledge on the Environment Bill.

Access our BNG tools

Comply with BNG today

The Biodiversity Net Gain Tool is a new tool that offers small sites end-to end compliance with the new BNG law.

BNG loolUse our BNG tool

Calculate the value of your Biodiversity Units

Joe's Blooms Explore is a new digital tool that allows you to easily work out the Biodiversity Unit value of any piece of land.

Explore tool
Use our Explore tool

Take care of your BNG

Our easy-to-use tool ensures full biodiversity net gain compliance and control for Local Planning Authorities.

LPA toolAccess the LPA portal

Find out if you are exempt from BNG

The easy-to-use Exemption Checker allows you to find out if BNG applies to your development and get all the information you need!

Exempt checker from BNGUse the Exemption Checker

Sign up

BNG is only a few months away from being implemented. If you are keen to get ahead of the curve and stay updated with all the latest BNG news, please sign up here.

Thank you! We'll keep you updated with the latest updates on BNG
Oops! Something went wrong, please refresh and try again
Cookie Consent

By clicking “Accept”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Cookie Policy for more information.

Close Cookie Popup