BNG for Developers, Planners & Architects

Make BNG a strategic asset—not a project risk.

As a developer, architect or planner, you already juggle tight timelines, budgets, and complex stakeholder expectations. The last thing you need is Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) derailing your project because it wasn’t considered early enough.

But with the right support — and the right plan — BNG can become an integrated, cost-managed part of your design process, rather than a last-minute headache.

At Land & Heritage, we help you get in front of the legislation, design more strategically, and avoid costly setbacks.

Plan ahead—or risk paying the price later

BNG isn’t just a line item in your application—it can become a significant financial burden if left too late. But with early guidance, that impact can be drastically reduced.

Here’s what we recommend:

1. Commission habitat surveys before design begins

The earlier you involve an ecologist, the more flexibility you have to:

Avoid high-value habitat areas before you design over them
Minimise your offset requirements by protecting what's already there
Save time and cost by preventing late-stage reworks or habitat compensation fees

We’ve seen entire masterplans redrawn because key habitats were only discovered after layout completion. Don’t let that happen to your project.

2. Secure local BNG units—or avoid needing them altogether

If your site can’t deliver the full 10% BNG uplift onsite, you’ll need to source offsite units. But not just any will do.

Compensation must be habitat-specific. Lose woodland? You must replace it with woodland.
It must be location-sensitive. Credits from outside your Local Planning Authority or National Character Area face multipliers that double your cost.
Government Statutory Credits are a last resort—and they’re priced to reflect that. (Some tiers cost over £650,000 per unit.)

We strongly recommend building early relationships with local landowners or working with a partner who can help you secure bespoke offsite units where needed.

3. Work with an ecologist who understands Green Infrastructure

BNG is just one of the new planning requirements. You’ll also need to deliver Green Infrastructure—and in some areas (like Cornwall), meet additional targets such as Canopy Cover.

These requirements often overlap or conflict, especially when poorly integrated at design stage.

As a multidisciplinary consultancy, Land & Heritage supports all these elements in one place—so you don’t end up with a plan that satisfies one policy but blocks another.

Land & Heritage BNG Workshop site options

How we'll help you succeed

We help you reduce risk, protect margins, and satisfy planning conditions—without overcomplicating your process.

We offer a flat rate, high-level BNG scoping service to assess feasibility of site for you.

Our team can:

Complete full baseline ecological assessments using the statutory metric
Guide you during design to maximise onsite BNG value
Advise on protected species mitigation and survey timings
Advise options for offsite unit sourcing and strategic habitat enhancement
Align your BNG plan with Green Infrastructure, Arboriculture, Heritage, and Landscape requirements — so your application is joined-up and fully defensible

Understanding the cost of units vs credits

BNG Units are the measurable biodiversity outputs you must deliver. If you fall short onsite, you’ll need to buy units or credits to compensate.

Here's the cost impact:

Units from local landowners: subject to multipliers based on proximity
- Same LPA/NCA = 1.0
- Neighbouring area = 1.33
- Outside both = 2.0
Statutory Credits (government-issued):
- Tiered by habitat type—from £42,000 to £650,000 per credit
- Always subject to a 0.5 efficiency multiplier (i.e. need 4 credits to cover 2 units)