Amy Norman, senior civil engineer, Charles Rothnie, senior structural engineer, and Ben Gillham, graduate structural engineer, from civil and structural engineering consultancy Perega, discuss the challenges that the 10 per cent Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) mandate has had when it comes to operationalising ecological thinking within the constraints of developing existing healthcare estates.
The 10 per cent Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) mandate came into force in February 2024,1 marking a fundamental shift in how healthcare infrastructure projects must be designed and delivered. For NHS trusts managing complex, live estates, we are now firmly in the implementation phase. The question is no longer whether to integrate ecological uplift, but how to operationalise it within the physical and budgetary constraints of existing hospital sites.
This transition presents what we might call the 'Brownfield Paradox'. The very structural interventions required to deliver nature-based solutions on constrained urban sites can risk increasing a project's embodied carbon footprint. Green roofs require stronger frames. Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) features demand careful ground engineering. Biodiversity zones require access routes for maintenance. Every ecological enhancement can create a cascade of structural implications that must be balanced against the carbon cost of implementing and maintaining the supporting infrastructure.
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