Uppingham BNG advice
Biodiversity Net Gain in Uppingham
Plan your Uppingham development around local habitats, planning requirements and practical biodiversity gains.
ACP Consultants can help with habitat surveys, biodiversity metric calculations and a practical BNG delivery plan for your Uppingham site.
Local planning guidance
Who decides development applications in Uppingham?
Rutland County Council is the unitary planning authority for ordinary development in Uppingham and the surrounding mapped neighbourhood area. Uppingham Town Council prepared the neighbourhood plan and informs local consultation but does not independently determine planning permission. Its made neighbourhood plan includes Uppingham Parish and a small neighbouring part of Ayston Parish as shown on the approved map; do not assume every nearby farm or road in Rutland falls within its neighbourhood policy boundary.
Local planning guidance
Adopted and emerging planning policy
Start with the adopted policies and the actual site boundary. Then establish the evidence needed for the proposal and its planning stage.
Which adopted biodiversity policies apply in Uppingham?
The adopted Rutland Core Strategy DPD of 11 July 2011, with CS21 The Natural Environment, CS23 Green Infrastructure and CS24 Rutland Water, and the 13 October 2014 Site Allocations and Policies DPD (SP19 Biodiversity and Geodiversity) remain operative. The minerals DPD was adopted October 2010. Additional local policy comes from the made Uppingham Neighbourhood Plan Review 2022–2041, formally adopted 1 August 2025, replacing the former Uppingham 2013–2026 plan. Its OS1 and OS2 protect and improve open spaces and connect them to new development.
| Adopted policy or document | What it covers | Practical implication for the application |
|---|---|---|
| CS21 / SP19 — Natural Environment; Biodiversity and Geodiversity | Rutland adopted Core 2011 and Site Allocations2014 | Survey priority habitats/protected species and avoid harm before relying on statutory gain units or offsite compensation. |
| OS1 / OS2 — Protect and Enhance Existing Open Spaces; Open Spaces and New Development | Uppingham made Neighbourhood Plan Review2022–2041, adopted 1August2025 | Check local neighbourhood open-space and habitat connections when designing a proposal or allocating new recreational space. |
| U-HA1 to U-HA5 — Housing site allocations and reserve sites | Uppingham made neighbourhood plan 2025 | Review applicable mapped allocation, assessment constraints and site-specific environmental details; a plan allocation is not planning permission. |
| C&H1 / C&H2 — Central Conservation Area and Other Heritage Assets/Open Spaces | Uppingham made neighbourhood plan | Integrate urban trees, heritage landscape and open-space retention with habitat design, not just metric totals. |
The requirements above are separate from the later national statutory BNG condition. A project should not achieve numerical gains by damaging priority habitats, designated land or protected species. Existing trees, water bodies, wetlands, wildlife corridors and high-value grassland must be assessed under their own applicable protections.
Which proposed plans should applicants monitor?
Rutland's 2021–2041 replacement Local Plan was submitted in February 2025 and remained under independent examination in November 2026 after July–September main modifications and an October housing-supply consultation. A separate 2026–2046 plan began Gateway 1 on 31 October 2026 and aims for a future 2029 adoption. Neither is yet adopted. Importantly, the Uppingham 2022–2041 Neighbourhood Plan Review IS made and operative since 1 August 2025, so its OS1/OS2, U-HA allocations and heritage policies have present development-plan status.
A consultation or Gateway stage is not an adopted Local Plan. Therefore, the plan currently in force, any relevant made neighbourhood plan and the 2026 National Planning Policy Framework continue to guide decisions.
Local planning guidance
How does the Local Nature Recovery Strategy apply to Uppingham?
The August 2025 published LLR LNRS covers Uppingham as part of Rutland, with Leicestershire County Council responsible for the statutory nature-recovery strategy. Its map helps identify appropriate woodland, meadow, grassland and hedgerow ecological measures in the surrounding agricultural landscape. A mapped action must match an actual proposed habitat and parcel for metric strategic significance. The LNRS does not replace Uppingham's made open-space OS1/OS2 policies or Rutland's unitary council planning functions.
The Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Local Nature Recovery Strategy was published August 2025, with Leicestershire County Council as responsible authority. Its Local Habitat Map identifies existing important habitats and locations where specified measures can support nature recovery.
An ecologist must test whether a proposed enhancement genuinely matches the relevant mapped measure. An LNRS opportunity polygon cannot replace a field survey, create units automatically or make a habitat gain site legally registered. Download the current map and retain its source/date when justifying strategic significance.
Local planning guidance
Local habitats and site considerations
Use habitats within and connected to your site to scope surveys and retain important ecological connections.
What makes biodiversity assessment locally specific?
Uppingham lies in the rural Rutland landscape with field boundaries, mature hedgerows, urban edge green space, small woodlands and grassland around a historic market town. Actual priority habitat depends on survey. New town-edge development should evaluate retained hedge quality, tree roots, drainage, rural species and local wildlife networks rather than assume surrounding arable fields have zero biodiversity. Bats, breeding birds and other protected species need separate risk evaluation where actual features could be affected.
Uppingham's own conservation area and mapped local open spaces are important planning and cultural designations, but they are not automatically statutory ecological habitats. The national protected species and local wildlife policy CS21/SP19 continue. Rutland Water SPA/Ramsar/SSSI may be relevant for a development with genuine functional bird, hydrological or other pathways, yet Uppingham must not inherit a blanket Rutland Water recreation fee or Northamptonshire Upper Nene SPA zone simply because both are in East Midlands.
Protected-species licensing, statutory site impact assessment, woodland or tree protection and any relevant watercourse assessment remain separate from BNG. A development exempt from the statutory condition may still need to avoid or mitigate ecological harm.
How should Uppingham development opportunities be approached?
The made 2025 Uppingham Neighbourhood Plan contains specific local housing allocations and reserve sites, including U-HA1 land near the cricket club off Leicester Road, U-HA2 off Ayston Road and U-HA3 Uppingham Gate. It also contains U-HA4/U-HA5 reserve sites, OS1/OS2 open-space duties and active travel policies. These are formally made neighbourhood planning allocations; individual projects still require actual planning permissions, surveys and legal BNG, rather than being preapproved by the plan alone.
OS1/OS2 and U-HA policies in the made 2025 plan
Uppingham’s made Neighbourhood Plan Review, adopted in August 2025, contains OS1 Protect and Enhance Existing Open Spaces and OS2 Open Spaces and New Development. It also identifies U-HA1 by the Cricket Club off Leicester Road, U-HA2 off Ayston Road and U-HA3 at Uppingham Gate, alongside reserve sites. A site in one of these locations should examine the exact made allocation, access, open space and ecological evidence. These allocations are not automatic planning permissions, and the statutory BNG condition remains subject to current national exemptions.
For a constrained scheme, first map existing vegetation, watercourses and habitats, then compare the proposed layout with avoidance and retention options. Habitat creation must suit soils, drainage, shading, public access and achievable long-term management. Do not infer biodiversity condition from the former industrial or agricultural land use.
Local planning guidance
What can applicants learn from local evidence?
Uppingham's Neighbourhood Plan Review 2022–2041 was approved by residents in a 24 July 2025 referendum (397 in favour and 121 against) and made by Rutland County Council on 1 August 2025. Its adopted OS1/OS2 protects and supports open-space provision, while U-HA allocations create a real site-based policy framework. This is a current published plan-making example.
Local planning guidance
What BNG evidence does Rutland County Council expect?
For development subject to statutory BNG, the national application-stage information normally includes:
- Whether the applicant considers the biodiversity gain condition applicable, with reason if exempt.
- The pre-development biodiversity value, completed appropriate published statutory metric, and version/publication date.
- Any earlier baseline date and reasons where relevant.
- Details of habitat degradation and earlier calculations where applicable.
- Any irreplaceable habitat on the red-line site.
- A scaled map showing current onsite habitats and a north point.
Rutland County Council's BNG webpage requests baseline habitat information and a completed metric for in-scope applications, with final Biodiversity Gain Plan normally approved post-permission. Its site still lists a separate old selfbuild exemption despite the national August 2026 change. The council also requests XLS rather than XLSM due to firewall restrictions, while current government main tool is macro-enabled XLSM. Ask Rutland planning how to transfer an intact calculation securely rather than blindly renaming or converting the workbook.
Additional ecology or landscape reports may be necessary and proportionate for specific impacts. Confirm the current council validation checklist and application type rather than assuming one universal report package. The final Biodiversity Gain Plan is normally approved after planning permission, before commencement, rather than being required universally with the first application.
For help commissioning evidence, see our BNG assessment service and habitat surveys.
Local planning guidance
What are the current statutory rules?
Qualifying development in England normally needs 10% statutory BNG. From 6 August 2026, a new application on a whole development site of 0.2 hectares or less can be exempt where no onsite priority habitat is adversely affected. Certain wholly temporary schemes lasting five years or less may also qualify; the former dedicated self/custom-build exemption no longer applies to new applications. Older cases and section 73 permissions require their own transitional assessment.
The 29 September 2026 NPPF, policies N1(2) and N2(3), restricts mandatory local BNG requirements above the statutory level to specific, justified and deliverable allocations. A general aspiration to improve biodiversity should not be misrepresented as an adopted blanket 20% requirement.
The latest government statutory metric, as at 10 November 2026, is v1.1.1, updated 10 November 2026. GOV.UK permits any published statutory metric version where appropriate; pre-statutory Metric 4.0 is not an accepted mandatory tool. An eligible smaller scheme may instead use the separate Small Sites Metric.
For decision criteria, see our BNG exemptions guide and statutory biodiversity metric service.
Local planning guidance
What if suitable biodiversity gains cannot be delivered onsite?
The made Neighbourhood Plan OS1/OS2 and shared LNRS can guide genuine habitat improvement in Uppingham, but they do not prove any registered offsite units for sale near the town. An offsite solution needs actual available habitat unit type, legally secured gain site, allocation and spatial risk from the government register. Neither a new housing allocation nor a conservation-area landscape promise guarantees the required statutory 10% gain.
For major development, appropriate onsite creation/enhancement normally has priority under the national gain hierarchy. For qualifying non-major applications made from 6 August 2026, onsite and registered offsite gains may be considered at an equivalent hierarchy level. Statutory biodiversity credits remain the last resort.
Any proposed offsite units must meet habitat-trading, spatial-risk, legal agreement, government gain-site registration and allocation rules. A local supplier's brochure, LNRS opportunity map or projected bank cannot demonstrate current saleable units. Significant onsite and registered offsite gains generally require at least 30 years of secure habitat management.
Our offsite biodiversity units guide and Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan service explain the respective stages.
Your site checklist
Seven checks before commissioning a BNG calculation
Use these seven checks to prepare a proportionate brief for your site assessment and planning submission.
| Check | Site evidence | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Planning authority | Confirm the red-line boundary and the actual decision-maker: Rutland County Council; check any separately identified planning geography. | Select the correct adopted plan, map and application validation list. |
| BNG applicability | Record the application date, whole site hectares, onsite priority habitats, development type and any earlier or section 73 permission. | Test the legally correct exemption, transition and delivery hierarchy. |
| Surveyed habitat | Obtain UKHab parcels, habitat conditions, hedgerows, watercourses, trees, photographs and protected-species evidence. | Determine survey scope, habitat condition and appropriate statutory metric modules. |
| Published LNRS | Check the Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Local Nature Recovery Strategy current Local Habitat Map and the exact matching habitat measure, not just an opportunity colour. | Justify the proposed measure against the published LNRS map and site location. |
| Protected sites | Made Uppingham OS1/OS2 open-space policy, CS21/SP19, hedgerow/urban trees and specific U-HA1/2/3 boundary constraints; assess Rutland Water SPA only for a genuine site-specific impact pathway. | Identify HRA, protected species, watercourse or other separate safeguards. |
| Gain-delivery route | Test viable onsite habitat, current habitat trading, genuine government-registered off-site allocation and significant enhancement management. | Check actual habitat trading, registered allocations, spatial risk and feasible habitat creation. |
| Application and stewardship | Use the appropriate council's application documents and prepare final gain-plan and long-term management at the right stage. | Align initial evidence, postpermission gain-plan approval and long-term stewardship. |
Local planning guidance
Project planning and delivery
Build the planning evidence around a consistent habitat baseline, site layout and metric. The steps below connect the application documents with practical habitat delivery.
What should a Uppingham project budget for?
Costs for a Uppingham proposal should distinguish UKHab habitat and hedgerow survey, statutory metric, design of long-term retention and management, and species or arboricultural reports if needed. Potential legally registered offsite units, final BGP/HMMP and Rutland council monitoring/legal arrangements are separate categories. Request the current applicable council schedule and project-specific habitat quotation.
Keep the costs of UKHab and condition surveys, the statutory metric, targeted protected-species work, registered offsite biodiversity units, legal obligations, and long-term habitat monitoring separate. These are not interchangeable fees. No generic market price can replace an actual quotation, and a council fee documented for a protected-site scheme is not the price of statutory BNG units.
A final Biodiversity Gain Plan for qualifying permission normally comes after consent and before commencement. Significant gains need realistic legal stewardship and a suitable habitat management/monitoring plan, often for at least 30 years.
Read our Biodiversity Gain Plan guide and BNG cost categories.
Practical assessment steps for Uppingham
First — establish the planning context. Supply the development boundary, proposals, expected application date and known planning authority. Identify current adopted policy, national BNG applicability, LNRS territory and any important constraints.
Next — survey and calculate. Scope UKHab, habitat condition, area/hedgerow/watercourse modules and, where justified, protected-species or Habitats Regulations work. Record metric version and survey assumptions transparently.
Then — plan realistic delivery. Seek habitat retention and appropriate onsite design. Assess any registered offsite shortfall and long-term management needs, without promising units or planning permission before a defensible assessment.
CTA: Request a Uppingham BNG project quotation — the approved original native three-step enquiry form, unchanged.
Local planning guidance
Frequently asked questions
These answers cover common planning, habitat and delivery questions for projects in Uppingham.
Is Uppingham's 2022–2041 Neighbourhood Plan made and operative?
Yes. Rutland County Council made the Uppingham Neighbourhood Plan Review 2022–2041 on 1 August 2025 after a successful 24 July referendum. Its policies form part of the local development plan and should be considered for sites inside the plan's mapped area.
Which neighbourhood open-space policies matter in Uppingham?
The made Uppingham plan contains OS1 Protect and Enhance Existing Open Spaces and OS2 Open Spaces and New Development. Their application depends on the actual site and development type, alongside county ecological policies and national BNG.
Do U-HA1, U-HA2 or U-HA3 housing allocations grant permission automatically?
No. The made plan identifies land near the cricket club/Leicester Road, Ayston Road and Uppingham Gate among local allocations. A developer must still secure appropriate consent and the necessary habitat surveys and statutory BNG evidence.
Does Uppingham Town Council approve biodiversity gain plans?
No. Rutland County Council is the unitary local planning authority. Uppingham Town Council prepared the made neighbourhood plan and participates in consultation, but final BNG planning conditions and gain-plan approvals sit with the competent planning authority.
Is the 2016 Uppingham Neighbourhood Plan still the primary plan?
No. The 2022–2041 Neighbourhood Plan Review was formally made in August 2025 and updates the earlier Uppingham plan. Applicants should use the final made version alongside Rutland's adopted Core Strategy and Site Allocations documents.
Does every Uppingham proposal need Rutland Water SPA mitigation?
No. Rutland Water's SPA/Ramsar designation is legally important where a development has relevant effects, but Uppingham proposals require actual site and pathway assessment. No universal Uppingham fee or transferred Upper Nene SPA buffer is established.
Which Uppingham housing allocations are named in the made 2025 plan?
The made 2022–2041 plan includes U-HA1 near the Cricket Club off Leicester Road, U-HA2 off Ayston Road and U-HA3 Uppingham Gate, with U-HA4 and U-HA5 reserve sites. These are adopted neighbourhood allocations or reserves, not automatic planning permissions.
Does Uppingham OS1/OS2 impose a separate universal 20% BNG percentage?
No. OS1 and OS2 are made neighbourhood policies about protecting and providing open space. Mandatory BNG eligibility and any required percentage follow current national law and applicable adopted planning policy, not an invented universal town-wide 20% requirement.
Does every Uppingham development need 10% Biodiversity Net Gain?
No. Qualifying development normally needs 10%, but the legal exemptions and transitions are important. New applications from 6 August 2026 can qualify for the conditional exemption on a site of 0.2 hectares or less where no onsite priority habitat is adversely affected. Protected species and habitats can require separate evidence.
Can a small site in Uppingham use the Small Sites Metric?
Only if the development and habitats meet the government's Small Sites Metric eligibility rules. Site area or number of dwellings alone does not decide this. The main statutory metric may be required instead, particularly where sensitive habitats or other exclusions apply.
When is the final Biodiversity Gain Plan approved in Uppingham?
For eligible permissions the final Biodiversity Gain Plan is normally submitted and approved after planning permission and before development starts. The original application needs the national baseline information plus any necessary and proportionate evidence required under the correct authority's current validation list.
Can I purchase off-site biodiversity units for a Uppingham project?
Potentially, provided the units meet the relevant habitat-trading, registration, legal allocation and spatial-risk rules. Availability, unit classes and prices have to be checked for the actual scheme. A supplier's website or nature-recovery map is not proof of available allocated units.
Project support
How ACP can help with your Uppingham project
ACP can help you plan the surveys, calculations and documents your site needs. We agree the scope around your proposal, its planning stage and the habitats affected.
Survey, design and planning support
- Habitat surveys and condition assessments.
- Statutory metric calculations and design options.
- BNG reports and planning submission support.
- Gain plans and habitat management documents.
Talk to ACP / Site enquiries
What does your site need next?
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.
Request a site-specific quotation
Start with the information you have. We ask for your email, site location and enquiry, with a telephone number at the final step.
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Uppingham BNG
Sources and references
Reviewed 10 November 2026.
Official planning and nature recovery sources
- Published Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland LNRS
- Uppingham Neighbourhood Plan adopted/made version and consultation
- Uppingham Made Neighbourhood Plan Review 2022–2041
- Rutland adopted DPDs
- Submitted 2021–2041 local plan examination
- New Rutland 2026–2046 Gateway 1
- Rutland BNG submission guidance
- Rutland 2026–2046 scoping consultation
- Current national BNG guidance
- Updated statutory metric tools
- National Planning Policy Framework: biodiversity policies N1 and N2