How BNG Works

What are BNG Units?

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BNG units or Habitat Units represent measurable improvements or avoided losses to biodiversity that developers can purchase to compensate for the impact of their projects on the habitats to your site, enabling you to meet Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements and secure planning consent or meet conditions. BNG units are registered on a government register and any sold units are retired from the register.

Are BNG Units Mandatory?

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Yes, if your ecology reports say your development will impact on any type of habitat and you are not able to prevent or replace any impact onsite, then you must obtain offsite like for like BNG units with a 10% gain on any impact.The Environment Act 2021 requires a statutory minimum of 10% biodiversity net gain (BNG) for all new developments in England & Wales from February 2024.Can I buy less than 1 unit at a time?What type of habitat type do I need to buy?Can I purchase credits directly from your site?What is the DEFRA metric?What is the spatial risk multiplier?How long do you maintain BNG habitats?What is the national character area profile?What are biodiversity credits?Do you offer advice on the units I need?Chat with us

What type of habitat do I need to buy?

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There are several different types of habitats which are grouped in tiers to reflect the cost and value of different habitats. Tiers ‘A1’ to ‘A5’ refer to area habitats, tier ‘H’ refers to hedgerow, and ‘W’ to watercourse habitats.You will need to match like for like unless you are using the trading rules to buy a higher quality BNG unit.

What is spatial risk multiplier?

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In short, you need to ensure that any habitat units you buy are created in either the Local Planning Authority or National Character Profile of your development site.

Why do I need to buy BNG Units?

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Every development now requires an ecological assessment on the impact your project will have on habitats and biodiversity. This report will show the lost habitat units of various types and distinctiveness of habitat for your site. If you can't replace these units on-site with a net gain of 10% then you will require off-site BNG units to cover the shortfall and ensure you get sign off from your local planning authority for your development project.Our team of ecology, planning and compliance experts are ready to provide certified high quality BNG units, ensuring your investment in the local ecosystem makes a real difference to the biodiversity of plants and animals.

Can I buy less than 1 Unit at a time?

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Yes we offer fractions of a unit in multiples of 0.25 subject to a minimum purchase of 1 unit.

What is the DEFRA Metric?

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DEFRA and Natural England have released a standardised Biodiversity Metric which ecologists feed information about any site into to produce a biodiversity value. The metric can show the losses and gains caused by development and habitat improvements. It can also calculate the impact from any spatial risk multiplier.

How long do you maintain BNG habitats?

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The statutory minimum period to manage and care for any site producing BNG units is 30 years. Each of our site has a program of regular monitoring a number of key metrics to show the improvements to biodiversity, to ensure we are on target and can undertake further work where necessary.

What is the national character area profile?

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Natural England have produced a map of England setting out areas of the country with connected ecosystems or geographic features. It's important you try to find BNG units within your are profile number, although you could buy from an adjacent number profile, it will mean you need to buy more units and the costs can mount quickly. Through our own projects and sourcing process we can provide most habitat types in different profile areas around the country to meet your planning requirements at the lowest possible cost.

The most common questions

Learn more about BNG

Can developments set a higher gain than 10 percent?

What happens if BNG commitments are not delivered?

What about planning conditions and legal agreements?

What is irreplaceable habitat?

Are there exemptions to Biodiversity Net Gain?

What if the developer does not deliver the gain?

What is a Biodiversity Gain Plan?

How long must habitats be maintained?

Is BNG mandatory?

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