Biodiversity net gain: what local planning authorities should do 

Setting local policies to support biodiversity net gain (BNG)  

Local planning authorities (LPAs) can set policies to support biodiversity net gain (BNG). They can identify local areas suitable for habitat creation and enhancement to help:  

• landowners who want to sell off-site biodiversity units 
• developers who need to comply with the BNG requirements  

LPAs can make sure developers know about:  

• the requirement for 10% BNG 
• local policy requirements for BNG, such as local nature recovery strategies 

If the local nature recovery strategy has not yet been published, LPAs should say what plans are currently in place.  

Local nature recovery strategies identify the places and habitats that are most beneficial for nature and get 15% more biodiversity units than the same habitat created elsewhere. 

Find out about biodiversity units in guidance about off-site gains. 

Find out about identifying habitat of strategic significance for local nature recovery in guidance about complying with the biodiversity duty. 

Facilitating transactions of units 

LPAs may be able to introduce sellers and buyers to each other by: 

• developing matching services 
• providing a habitat bank register that lists local gain sites for sale 

Approving planning applications and biodiversity gain plans 

If the LPA grants planning permission for the development, the developer must submit a biodiversity gain plan. The LPA will then need to decide whether to approve the biodiversity gain plan by considering whether the 10% BNG is achieved. 

Planning permission includes a general biodiversity gain condition.  

Developers cannot start work on a development and the LPA cannot publish a development on their register until the LPA has approved the biodiversity gain plan. 

Before approving a planning application 

Before approving the planning application, the LPA should check any significant on-site enhancements or off-site gains are appropriate, legally secured and that a maintenance and monitoring plan is in place for 30 years.  

LPAs should check the required metric calculation for habitat before development and biodiversity information have been submitted with the planning application. 

This will ensure the final biodiversity gain plan takes account of any amendments made after the initial planning permission. 

Reviewing the biodiversity gain plan 

Developers can submit their biodiversity gain plan for the LPA to review, after planning permission has been given. 

LPAs must decide whether to approve a biodiversity gain plan within 8 weeks. LPAs must notify the applicant with the decision. 

If the LPA approves the biodiversity gain plan, they must publish the decision on their planning register.  

What to check 

LPAs should check the biodiversity gain plan explains:    

• how the developer has applied the biodiversity gain hierarchy  
• the biodiversity unit values before and after development  
• how the developer will deliver the 10% BNG 

The developer must submit their: 

• completed biodiversity metric calculation

• pre-development and post-development plans (showing the location of on-site habitat, the direction of north and drawn to an identified scale) 

The developer must also provide any of the following that apply to their application: 

• compensation plan (if the metric advises that they need to) 
• site’s reference numbers from the biodiversity net gain register
• proof that they need statutory credits
• statutory biodiversity credits proof of purchase 
• habitat management and monitoring plan 

There is a biodiversity gain plan template. It is not mandatory, but asking developers to use it could help with standardising the submission of biodiversity gain plan and metric information. 

Find out how to review the biodiversity gain plan template. 

Checking metric calculations 

LPAs are responsible for reviewing and checking metric tool calculations submitted by developers, as part of assessing whether they can achieve the 10% biodiversity gain.  

Local authorities must report on biodiversity gains that are delivered and expected to be delivered. Information from biodiversity metric calculations could support the duty to report on biodiversity gains. 

Metric calculations to assess 

The statutory biodiversity metric tool must be used to create the biodiversity gain plan. LPAs should not accept calculations made with previous versions of the metric tool (4.0 and before).

Small sites can choose to use a simpler small sites version of the metric.  

LPAs should assess small sites calculations in the same way as calculations made for larger sites using the statutory biodiversity metric tool. LPAs cannot expect a developer to use any specific consultant or ecologist. 

Developers should submit a copy of the metric calculation with the planning application as supporting evidence of the habitat’s biodiversity value before development.  

The final calculation showing the value before and after proposed development does not have to be completed until the final biodiversity gain plan is submitted, although it can be shared earlier. 

The LPA must assess and decide whether to approve the final biodiversity metric calculation. It is up to the LPA to determine what expertise is needed to help assess the biodiversity metric submitted with the biodiversity gain plan. They may decide to use an ecologist or one of their planning officers. 

Developers must submit their completed biodiversity metric calculation with their biodiversity gain plan.  

LPAs need to: 

• decide what expertise they need to review the biodiversity metric 
• check that the pre-development, post development and total net change calculations match  
• check that it meets the trading rules 
• check that the developer’s habitat valuation is accurate 
• report on biodiversity gains that the developer delivers and expects to deliver 

If a small site development uses off-site gains in their main biodiversity metric, LPAs need to manually check the trading rules in the biodiversity gain plan. 

Read guidance about the statutory biodiversity metric.

See all statutory biodiversity metric calculation tools and guides.

Support for LPAs on the biodiversity metric 

Recorded webinars are available from the Local Government Association’s Planning Advisory Service. 

Checking habitat surveys 

To review habitat surveys, LPAs may need to check: 

• aerial photos 
• protected sites and species 
• local environmental record centres 
• other data sources 
• with local ecologists or habitat specialists to get their advice  

LPAs only need to check information that’s relevant to the habitat survey. 

Developments for on-site gains within small sites do not need to submit habitat surveys. 

Checking developers selling excess on-site gains 

If a developer plans to sell excess on-site gains for another development to use as off-site gains, the LPA should be satisfied that: 

• the on-site excess gains count as significant 
• the use of significant excess on-site gains is clear in the biodiversity gain plan for the other development 
• the gains are legally secured, allocated and registered, as for any off-site gains 

If these conditions are not met, the LPA should not accept the use of excess on-site gains for another development’s off-site BNG.  

Checking the biodiversity gain sites register for off-site gains  

You should check that the amount and type of any off-site gains listed in the developer’s biodiversity gain plan match the allocation recorded on the biodiversity gain sites register. The register is operated by Natural England and available when BNG becomes mandatory.  

Before you approve a biodiversity gain plan, you must check that: 

• any off-site gains in the plan have been registered 
• those off-site gains have been recorded as allocated to the development in question 
• the biodiversity value of the gains in the gain plan match the value recorded on the register 

On-site gains do not need to be registered or allocated. Statutory biodiversity credits also do not need to be registered or allocated. 

Off-site gains on land owned by a local planning authority 

What to check before making a legal agreement 

Before local planning authorities (LPAs) make a legal agreement, they must check: 

• they have the right licences, consents and permits 
• that the baseline and habitats are accurate 
• if the habitat or enhancement is within the wildlife consultation area of an aerodrome 

If the habitat or enhancement is within the wildlife consultation area of an aerodrome, LPAs must also check: 

• that the relevant aerodrome was consulted 
• the gains meet aerodrome safety standards 

How to legally secure gains 

Developers can make off-site gains on land owned by an LPA and should follow the guidance for off-site gains. 

LPAs cannot secure gains using legal agreements with themselves, so they must secure their land in other ways. 

Securing land using a section 106 agreement 

There are 3 options for LPAs to secure their land with a section 106 agreement. 

Special purpose vehicle 

The LPA can set up a special purpose vehicle and enter a section 106 agreement with them. The special purpose vehicle will carry out the habitat enhancement work and the LPA must check that they meet their responsibilities. 

Enter an agreement with the county council 

If the LPA is not a unitary authority, they can enter a section 106 agreement with the county council. The LPA will carry out the habitat enhancement work and the county council must check that they meet their responsibilities. 

Lease the land to a tenant 

The LPA can lease their land to a tenant and enter a section 106 agreement with them. The tenant will carry out the habitat enhancement work and the LPA must check that they meet their responsibilities. 

Securing land using a conservation covenant agreement 

There are 3 options for LPAs to secure their land with a conservation covenant agreement: 

The LPA carries out the habitat enhancement works 

Enter an agreement where the LPA will carry out the habitat enhancement work and the responsible body must check that they meet their responsibilities. 

The responsible body carries out the habitat enhancement works 

Enter an agreement where the responsible body will carry out the habitat enhancement work and the LPA must check that they meet their responsibilities. 

The tenant carries out the habitat enhancement works 

The LPA can lease their land to a tenant and enter an agreement with them. The tenant will carry out the habitat enhancement work and the LPA must check that they meet their responsibilities. 

The LPA must register the planning obligation or conservation covenant with the local land charges register. 

Monitoring BNG 

The person responsible for ensuring the landowner does what they have committed to do is the other party to the legal agreement. Where a planning obligation secures on-site or off-site gains, the LPA will enforce the agreement. Where on-site or off-site gains are secured by a conservation covenant, the responsible body will enforce the agreement.  

The LPA or responsible body should: 

• monitor whether the landowner is meeting their obligations 
• take action if they do not 

Working with developers who wish to buy statutory biodiversity credits 

LPAs should talk to the developer as soon as a potential need for statutory biodiversity credits has been identified.  

LPAs need to be satisfied by the evidence that not enough on-site or off-site gains can be made to meet the 10% BNG requirement, before they allow developers to buy statutory credits. 

When it’s agreed that a developer can buy statutory credits, LPAs should send email confirmation of this without delay, so that the final biodiversity gain plan can be submitted. 

They should advise developers not to buy statutory credits until they are able to discharge (fulfil) their non-BNG pre-commencement planning conditions. 

LPAs may need to advise developers on bespoke BNG compensation if they are building on some types of habitat. When developers use the statutory biodiversity metric tool, it will tell them if they need to make bespoke compensation. They cannot buy statutory biodiversity credits if they are required to make bespoke compensation. 

How to check the right statutory credits have been purchased 

With their biodiversity gain plan, the developer will provide proof of purchase of statutory biodiversity credits, which will state the number of statutory credits of each tier they have bought.  

They will also provide their final metric calculation. LPAs will need to check that the developer has bought the correct number of statutory credits from each price tier, using the unit shortfall summary from their metric calculation.

Read the collected guidance on biodiversity net gain for developers, land managers and LPAs.

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