Cheshire BNG / County planning guidance
Biodiversity net gain in Cheshire starts with the right planning authority and nature recovery map. Compare council policies, habitat evidence and delivery options across Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington, Halton and the Peak District.
ACP helps developers, architects, planners and landowners scope ecological surveys, calculate biodiversity units and prepare planning evidence. We assess existing habitats, ecological constraints and practical ways to secure long-term gains.
Reviewed 8 November 2026 · Cheshire and Warrington / Liverpool City Region LNRS
Habitat baseline / statutory metric / better design
For a planning application in scope, the statutory objective is normally at least a 10% increase in biodiversity value. The calculation starts with an assessment of existing habitats within the development's red-line boundary.
An ecologist maps habitat types and records the relevant condition and distinctiveness information. The statutory biodiversity metric then compares the baseline with the proposed habitat retention, enhancement and creation.
This is not the percentage of a site left green. Habitat size, type, condition, strategic significance and the time or difficulty of establishing new habitats all affect the calculation. Hedgerows and watercourses also have separate unit accounts.
Therefore, a design that protects existing woodland, hedges, ponds or other valued habitats may be more effective than one that relies entirely on replacement planting. Early survey evidence helps the project team understand those options before the layout becomes fixed.
Read more about ACP's BNG assessment and habitat baseline surveys and statutory biodiversity metric calculations.
Four unitary councils / National Park planning boundary
Most proposals in Cheshire are determined by one of four unitary councils. However, land within the Peak District National Park has a separate planning authority.
The correct authority matters because its adopted Local Plan, local validation list and ecological requirements may differ. Likewise, the Local Nature Recovery Strategy can change when moving from Cheshire into Halton.
| Your development location | Relevant ordinary planning authority | Important local distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Crewe, Nantwich, Macclesfield, Congleton, Wilmslow and much of eastern Cheshire | Cheshire East Council | Local Plan Strategy 2017 and Site Allocations/Development Policies 2022. Excludes land inside the Peak District National Park |
| Chester, Ellesmere Port, Northwich, Winsford and much of western Cheshire | Cheshire West and Chester Council | Local Plan Parts One (2015) and Two (2019), including biodiversity policies ENV4 and DM44 |
| Warrington, Lymm, Birchwood and Warrington borough | Warrington Borough Council | Adopted Local Plan December 2023; DC3 green infrastructure and DC4 ecological network |
| Widnes, Runcorn and the Halton unitary area | Halton Borough Council | Adopted Delivery and Allocations Local Plan March 2022; Liverpool City Region LNRS applies |
| Cheshire East land within the Peak District National Park | Peak District National Park Authority | Separate Core Strategy and 2019 Development Management Policies, including L2, DMC11 and DMC12 |
A project in the Cheshire portion of the Peak District National Park should not automatically follow Cheshire East development management policies. The National Park Authority has its own adopted Local Plan documents and planning responsibilities.
Equally, the National Park is not a fifth Cheshire unitary council. Its jurisdiction depends on the legal park boundary. Its planning and ecological policies must be checked alongside the relevant statutory BNG rules.
Planning route / nature recovery map / project evidence
Use the location table to identify the relevant planning framework and nature recovery map. Then gather the six evidence items for your project brief.
| Where is the site? | Planning authority | Which LNRS map? | Current adopted planning context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crewe, Nantwich, Macclesfield, Congleton or other Cheshire East land outside the Peak District | Cheshire East Council | Cheshire and Warrington LNRS | 2017 SE3 and 2022 ENV1/ENV2; July 2024 BNG SPD. New plan Gateway 1 October 2026, not adopted. |
| Chester, Ellesmere Port, Northwich, Winsford and other Cheshire West land | Cheshire West and Chester Council | Cheshire and Warrington LNRS | 2015 ENV4, 2019 DM44. New 2026 scoping is not adopted. |
| Warrington borough, including Lymm and Birchwood | Warrington Borough Council | Cheshire and Warrington LNRS | December 2023 adopted DC3/DC4. Check the local validation list alongside current national BNG rules. |
| Halton, including Widnes and Runcorn | Halton Borough Council | Liverpool City Region LNRS | March 2022 adopted HE1/HE4. New plan scoping October–December 2026; not adopted. |
| Cheshire East land inside the Peak District National Park boundary | Peak District National Park Authority | Cheshire and Warrington LNRS — applicable Peak District portions | Park Core Strategy L2 and Development Management Policies 2019 DMC11/DMC12. Draft 2026–2045 plan not adopted. |
| Question | What matters? | Evidence to obtain or verify |
|---|---|---|
| 1. When was the application made? | Some exemptions and the non-major gain hierarchy changed from 6 August 2026. Section 73 and older permissions can differ. | Application date/permission chain and current government exemption guidance. |
| 2. Is the development actually exempt? | The new site-area test requires a red-line site of 0.2 hectares or less and no adverse onsite priority habitat impact, plus applicable timing conditions. De minimis and householder routes have different criteria. | Scaled site plan, habitat-impact evidence and documented legal exemption basis. Never assume all self-builds exempt. |
| 3. What habitats and ecological constraints exist? | Estuary, lowland peat, woodland, hedgerows, watercourses and protected species may create different statutory assessments. | Proportionate UKHab baseline, condition data, species and designated-site/impact-pathway review. |
| 4. Which Local Nature Recovery Strategy and measure applies? | Halton uses Liverpool City Region, not Cheshire and Warrington. Even in mapped ACBs the proposed habitat action must satisfy metric strategic-significance rules. | Exact LNRS map, parcel boundary, potential measure/habitat match and current metric user guide. |
| 5. Which adopted Local Plan and validation checklist govern? | Each authority has different policies and current documents. Peak District land has separate National Park rules; current national BNG rules also apply. | Council policies map, adopted plan, latest application-specific list and separate HRA/ecology reports as needed. |
| 6. How are gains legally delivered? | Major and qualifying non-major hierarchies differ. Offsite units need habitat trading, lawful security, registration and allocation; significant gains need 30-year management. | Current metric, design options, potential HMMP, legal agreements and national gain site register. |
Cheshire and Warrington / Liverpool City Region
Cheshire is unusual because a county-wide BNG search may involve two different Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs). Both provide valuable habitat maps, but they do not cover the same planning jurisdictions.
The Cheshire and Warrington LNRS covers Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East, Warrington and relevant parts of the Peak District National Park. Cheshire West and Chester Council is the responsible authority.
Published in November 2025, it identifies existing biodiversity assets, opportunities to connect habitats and mapped actions that could support nature recovery. Relevant themes include hedgerow recovery, woodland and tree connections, rivers, wetlands, meres and lowland peat habitats.
The Local Habitat Map shows existing core nature sites and opportunity areas, with actions intended to guide where restoration or enhancement could make the strongest contribution.
Cheshire and Warrington LNRS and map.
Halton belongs to the Liverpool City Region LNRS, not to the Cheshire and Warrington strategy area.
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority approved its strategy in March 2026 and launched it on 20 March 2026. It covers Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral.
Its Local Habitat Map identifies core nature sites and opportunity areas. In Halton, the Mersey estuary, woodland and post-industrial green spaces create different nature recovery questions from those of much of rural Cheshire.
For a development in Widnes or Runcorn, use the Liverpool City Region strategy and the Halton planning framework. Do not use the Cheshire and Warrington potential-measures layer without confirming it actually covers the land.
Liverpool City Region LNRS and Local Habitat Map.
No. Mapping an area as a nature recovery opportunity does not automatically grant a biodiversity metric uplift, establish a protected-site designation or make habitat creation lawful.
The proposed habitat type, location and action need to match an eligible mapped potential measure and the current metric guidance. For example, planting an unrelated habitat inside a broad opportunity area may not satisfy the mapped measure.
An LNRS map also cannot replace a UKHab habitat survey, condition assessment, species records or site-specific planning evidence. It should inform ecological judgement, not bypass it.
Application dates / site area / priority habitats
Not every planning application must deliver statutory 10% BNG. The answer depends on the application category, date, development boundary and impacts on priority habitat.
For qualifying new planning applications made on or after 6 August 2026, development within a red-line site area of 0.2 hectares or less can be exempt if it does not adversely affect onsite priority habitat.
Other exemptions may apply to genuine householder development, de minimis habitat impacts and certain wholly temporary developments permitted for five years or less. The legal conditions are different for each route.
Importantly, the former self-build and custom-build-specific exemption no longer applies to new planning applications made from 6 August 2026. Some earlier applications and section 73 variations retain transitional protection.
Small does not always mean exempt. A development may be in scope even if it qualifies for the Small Sites Metric. Conversely, an exemption from the statutory gain condition does not remove protected species, trees, designated-site or other ecological obligations.
Read ACP's BNG exemptions guide for the detailed tests. Always use the current government exemptions guidance for the legal position.
Adopted policy / local requirements / emerging plan
Cheshire East Council's Local Plan Strategy was adopted in July 2017. Its relevant provisions include SE3, Biodiversity and Geodiversity, SE5, Trees, Hedgerows and Woodland, and SE6, Green Infrastructure.
The Site Allocations and Development Policies Document, adopted in December 2022, adds detailed policies. These include ENV1, Ecological Network, ENV2, Ecological Implementation, and ENV4, River Corridors.
The council also adopted an Ecology and Biodiversity Net Gain Supplementary Planning Document in July 2024. This offers local guidance alongside the adopted plan, rather than replacing the statutory national framework.
Cheshire East began preparation of a replacement Local Plan under the new plan-making system on 30 October 2026, when it published its Gateway 1 self-assessment.
The new Local Plan is not yet adopted. Therefore, the 2017 strategy and 2022 detailed policies remain the relevant adopted starting point outside the Peak District National Park.
The council also publishes section 106 legal agreements for habitat banking. They are useful evidence of local BNG delivery arrangements, but do not establish current unit availability or price.
Cheshire East SE3, planning policy document index, new plan Gateway 1.
Adopted policy / local requirements / emerging plan
Cheshire West and Chester's adopted plan has two parts. Part One was adopted on 29 January 2015 and includes ENV4, Biodiversity and Geodiversity, alongside green infrastructure policy ENV3.
Part Two, adopted on 18 July 2019, includes DM44, Natural Environment. Together, these policies help protect designated sites, ecological networks, habitats and species.
The council provides a March 2024 interim BNG and Ecological Networks Guidance Note and a separate 2025 guidance note on significant onsite enhancement. These are useful for understanding local expectations and supporting information.
Apply these local requirements alongside the current national exemption and gain hierarchy rules.
No. The council's new Local Plan scoping consultation closed in September 2026, and its call for sites closed on 6 November 2026.
A further content and evidence consultation was scheduled for 7 December 2026. As of this review, that date is still in the future. The new plan is not adopted.
Cheshire West BNG requirements and new Local Plan timetable.
Adopted policy / local requirements / emerging plan
Warrington Borough Council adopted its Local Plan 2021/22–2038/39 on 4 December 2023.
Relevant policies include DC3, Green Infrastructure, and DC4, Ecological Network. The plan seeks to safeguard biodiversity and strengthen habitat connections when development affects ecological networks.
Warrington publishes a local validation checklist for applications submitted from 6 August 2026. Version 1.2 sets out its application information requirements, including BNG strategy and metric evidence for relevant developments.
Check the application-specific local validation list alongside the national BNG rules, including the August 2026 exemption changes.
Adopted Warrington Local Plan and planning validation checklists.
Adopted policy / local requirements / emerging plan
Halton Borough Council adopted its Delivery and Allocations Local Plan on 2 March 2022. Relevant policies include HE1, Natural Environment and Nature Conservation, HE4, Greenspace and Green Infrastructure, and HE5, Trees and Landscaping.
Halton covers Widnes, Runcorn and surrounding communities. Its sites can raise distinctive estuary, woodland, watercourse or former industrial-land constraints. The appropriate habitat baseline and separate environmental assessments depend on the site.
The council is preparing a replacement Local Plan. Its scoping consultation opened on 28 October 2026 and is scheduled to close at noon on 14 December 2026.
A Gateway 1 milestone is currently targeted for 1 March 2027. Neither the proposed plan nor its timetable is an adopted replacement.
For BNG location and nature recovery context, use the Liverpool City Region LNRS. In particular, do not assume that a habitat action drawn from the Cheshire and Warrington map applies to a Halton parcel.
Adopted policy / local requirements / emerging plan
The Peak District National Park Authority is responsible for planning within its boundary, including relevant land in eastern Cheshire.
Its adopted Core Strategy includes L2, Sites of Biodiversity or Geodiversity Importance. The Development Management Policies, adopted in May 2019, include DMC11, Safeguarding, Recording and Enhancing Nature Conservation Interests, and DMC12, Sites, Features or Species of Wildlife, Geological or Geomorphological Importance.
Other policies address landscape character and trees. Therefore, a BNG proposal within the park must be compatible with those requirements and protected-site legislation.
A new Peak District Local Plan 2026–2045 is emerging. Its main Regulation 19 consultation closed in September 2026, while a supplementary consultation on housing-related policies is scheduled to end on 10 November 2026.
This draft is not adopted as of 8 November 2026. The existing Core Strategy and 2019 Development Management Policies remain the operative starting point.
Peak District planning and biodiversity, emerging plan review.
Application-stage evidence / post-permission Gain Plan
The information needed at application stage is not identical to the final Biodiversity Gain Plan. The formal statutory Gain Plan is normally approved after planning permission and before development begins.
For an in-scope proposal, national application information generally includes the applicant's BNG declaration, habitat baseline and pre-development value, completed metric and version, appropriate mapped habitat plan, and information about habitat degradation or irreplaceable habitats.
The relevant council may require additional ecological information. For example, a proposal affecting a designated habitat may need an ecological impact assessment or Habitats Regulations evidence separate from the 10% metric.
Check the red-line boundary, including any Peak District boundary or Halton/Liverpool City Region distinction.
Record evidence for any claimed exemption. Older applications or section 73 variations need separate review.
Use proportionate habitat mapping and condition assessment. Identify relevant trees, hedgerows, watercourses and protected features.
Check whether the habitat intervention matches an eligible mapped potential measure. Use an appropriate statutory metric version.
Avoid unnecessary losses. Compare feasible onsite options, then compliant off-site units where relevant.
For in-scope permissions, arrange post-permission approval and secure significant onsite/offsite habitat gains for the required period.
For related services, see ACP's Biodiversity Gain Plan guidance and Habitat Management and Monitoring Plans.
Estuaries / meres and mosses / rivers / woodland
Assess protected sites, species and habitats alongside the statutory metric.
The Dee and Mersey estuaries include internationally important wetland and bird habitats. Where a proposal could affect those sites, separate screening and Habitats Regulations Assessment may be needed. Buying biodiversity units would not automatically resolve that impact.
Cheshire's meres and mosses can include valuable wetland and peat habitats. Habitat loss, altered water levels or unsuitable planting may have consequences that a simple unit total does not show.
Established ecological networks are important across the Cheshire Plain. Their retention can support BNG as well as protected species and landscape requirements.
The Weaver, Gowy, Mersey and associated watercourses can influence design and watercourse-unit calculations. The metric treats watercourses separately from area habitats.
Moorland, grassland and designated habitats in the National Park require its own policy checks. Statutory BNG does not remove protected-site or species obligations.
Identify ecological constraints early so that habitat design supports the wider planning submission.
Habitat trading / allocation / long-term management
The appropriate delivery route depends on the proposal and the statutory gain hierarchy.
For major development, first seek to avoid habitat harm and deliver suitable onsite improvements. Registered off-site units may be needed where the scheme cannot meet its requirement onsite. Statutory biodiversity credits remain the final option.
For qualifying non-major applications made on or after 6 August 2026, onsite habitat creation, onsite enhancement and registered off-site gains sit at the same priority level under the revised hierarchy. Credits remain the last resort. Earlier saved applications may differ.
Off-site units must satisfy habitat trading rules and any applicable spatial factors. They also need suitable legal security, gain-site registration and formal allocation to the development.
For example, Cheshire East publishes legal agreements linked to local habitat banks, including Harts Grove Farm and land near Minshull Vernon. Before arranging a purchase, verify suitable registered units, legal security and their availability for allocation.
Likewise, a location shown as an LNRS opportunity does not mean units already exist or can be purchased.
Significant onsite gains and registered off-site gains generally require habitat management secured for at least 30 years.
Use the government biodiversity gain sites register to investigate recorded sites and allocations. For the full decision route, see ACP's off-site biodiversity units guide.
Ten checks / a clear project brief
Send ACP your site location, proposed works and any existing plans or ecological reports. We can help identify a proportionate BNG assessment route.
Scope the work / assess habitats / plan delivery
A useful BNG assessment should inform the development design and planning submission, not simply produce a headline percentage.
ACP can help scope the relevant habitat baseline, review biodiversity metric inputs and explain how habitat retention, enhancement, creation or compliant off-site delivery may affect the project.
We can also help coordinate the ecological evidence with the planning programme, including other survey requirements where relevant. The scope should follow the real site, application category and correct authority.
For a broader process overview, see our BNG process guide and BNG consultant services.
For wider geographic coverage, explore BNG in North West England.
Local planning questions / practical answers
No. Statutory BNG usually applies to qualifying developments, but exemptions and transitional arrangements exist. Application date, development type, red-line site area and priority habitats need checking.
Four unitary councils are relevant to the wider Cheshire county area: Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington, and Halton. The Peak District National Park Authority separately determines planning applications within its park boundary.
Halton is part of the Liverpool City Region LNRS. It is not within the Cheshire and Warrington LNRS. Use the Liverpool City Region Local Habitat Map for a site in Widnes or Runcorn.
The strategy was published in November 2025. Cheshire West and Chester Council is the responsible authority. The strategy covers East and West Cheshire, Warrington and relevant Peak District areas.
No. A proposed habitat change must match the eligible mapped measure, habitat type and location under the statutory metric rules. An opportunity area alone does not create units or planning permission.
For qualifying new applications made on or after 6 August 2026, a red-line site of 0.2 hectares or less can be exempt if it does not adversely affect onsite priority habitat. Saved or varied permissions may need separate analysis.
No. The former self-build/custom-build-specific exemption was removed for new applications made on or after 6 August 2026. Another exemption could apply if its separate conditions are met.
No. Cheshire East has its 2017 Local Plan Strategy and 2022 detailed policies. Cheshire West and Chester uses its 2015 Part One and 2019 Part Two plans. Each has its own local guidance.
The Peak District National Park Authority is the relevant planning authority. Its Core Strategy and Development Management Policies apply, alongside national BNG law and separate ecological duties.
Potentially, if matching units can be lawfully secured, registered and allocated to the development. Published habitat-bank agreements or supplier listings are not proof of current availability, suitability or price.
No. Protected species, designated sites, trees, peat habitats and other ecological constraints may trigger separate requirements. A biodiversity metric result does not replace those assessments.
Share your site location or red-line plan, development description, drawings, application stage, planning authority if known and existing ecological reports. This helps define a suitable scope and identify the next steps.
Talk to ACP / Site enquiries
Tell us where the site is, what you plan to build and how far the application has progressed. We’ll use that context to discuss the surveys, calculations or plans your project needs.
What to have to handA red-line plan, an existing ecology report or a request from the council can help us scope the work. Start with whatever you already have.
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Cheshire BNG
Reviewed 8 November 2026.
