How to Prepare Your Land for BNG Opportunities

Biodiversity net gain (BNG) became a legal requirement of planning permission in England in 2024.¹ It mandates that certain developments (a list of exempted projects is available on gov.uk)² must achieve a minimum 10% improvement in biodiversity through on-site enhancements, buying off-site BNG units or, as a last resort, via statutory biodiversity credits, purchased from the government.

Growing numbers of landowners have turned part or all of their land into biodiversity units, taking advantage of both the environmental and potential economic opportunities they offer.

If you're thinking about taking a similar route, the steps below cover how to prepare your land for BNG, through habitat banking or bespoke habitat creation.

Ensure You Have the Legal Right to Sell Biodiversity Units

Whether you want to establish a habitat bank or create a bespoke habitat, you must be able to show that you own the land. If you manage it on behalf of a landowner, you must provide evidence of their consent to undertake BNG.

Tenant farmers can enter a legal agreement if their lease is at least as long as the agreement, but if it is shorter the freeholder must also be included.³ Where land is let, the tenant's consent to the terms of the agreement should also be checked.⁴

After identifying the land for potential BNG opportunities, check the registered title at the land registry and local land charges⁵ to ensure it has no constraints.⁶

Conduct a Baseline Survey

Many developers are unable to meet the minimum 10% uplift in biodiversity on-site, so the demand for quality BNG units is robust.

If you want to create or enhance a habitat to sell biodiversity units, the first step is carrying out a baseline habitat survey to determine what habitats are present on your land and their condition.

At the same time, it's worth thinking about what you want to do with your land in the context of the wider local landscape, and any Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS). Find out which LNRS your land comes under on gov.uk,⁷ and if one is not published for your land, ask the local planning authority (LPA) for a draft version, or for the strategy they are applying in the area until the LNRS is published.

The results of the baseline survey, as well as planned enhancements, are entered into the statutory biodiversity metric tool,⁸ which will calculate the number of biodiversity units. The number will vary with the timing of the habitat creation, and the price per unit with the buying developer's project location.⁹

For bespoke habitat creation only, landowners can agree the sale of units at this point in the process.¹⁰

Legally Secure the Land

Landowners looking to sell biodiversity net gain units must commit to creating and managing their habitats for a minimum of 30 years under a legal agreement.

That could be a planning obligation, usually a section 106 agreement, with their local planning authority, or a conservation covenant, overseen by a designated responsible body.¹¹

The landowner or land manager and the LPA or responsible body must also agree a habitat management and monitoring plan (HMMP) that clearly lays out how the planned enhancements will be achieved and maintained.¹²

For both habitat banking and bespoke habitat creation, work to enhance or create a site can begin at this stage.¹³

Register the Land

The next stage of the process is registering the land on the biodiversity gain sites register.¹⁴ It costs £639 to register a biodiversity gain site, paid within 28 days of submitting an application.¹⁵ It must include:

• documents detailing proof of ownership or lease of the biodiversity gain site being registered
• a document or image detailing the land boundary that does not include personal data
• a legal agreement (either a section 106 agreement or conservation covenant) securing the land for a minimum of 30 years
• a completed statutory biodiversity metric tool calculation, including information about all the land secured by the legal agreement
• a habitat management and monitoring plan (if not included in your legal agreement)
• a local land charge search certificate dated within the last two months

You should get a response to your application within six weeks. If it is approved, you will be sent a reference number unique to your biodiversity gain site. If the application is rejected, you will be told why.

Sell Your Biodiversity Units

Once registered on the biodiversity gain sites register, landowners or land managers offering habitat banking can sell their BNG units to developers. It's important to think carefully about the price of your BNG units.

The cost should cover several elements, including the initial creation and enhancement of habitats, managing the land for at least 30 years, and all monitoring and reporting.

It should also take in insurance, the cost of experts and machinery, and pricing in any future remedial work as well as external influences, such as inflation.¹⁶

It's also worth bearing in mind that selling BNG units, one of two statutory ecosystem services offered in England, could have tax implications, as laid out in HMRC's technical note on ecosystem services, published in 2026.¹⁷

We Can Help You Maximise Your Land's BNG Potential

Whether you want to do more with your family's farmland or are looking to enhance biodiversity by creating an entirely new habitat, we can help.

Our experts can guide you through every stage, from initial baseline assessment to the long-term management of existing or created habitat.

Email us at sales@greenshank-environmental.com or fill in this contact form and we'll be in touch as soon as possible.

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