Biodiversity net gain · Off-site delivery
BNG units, statutory credits and the gain site register
When a development cannot deliver its 10% on site, the gap is closed with off-site BNG units or, as a last resort, statutory BNG credits.
Off-site gain counts only if it is on the biodiversity gain site register kept by Natural England, and credits are sold at prices Defra publishes under section 101 of the Environment Act 2021.
This page covers buying units, selling them from your own land, when credits are allowed, and what they cost.
The order
On site, then units, then credits
Schedule 7A counts three things towards the 10%: on-site habitat after development, registered off-site gain allocated to the development, and statutory credits bought for it.
The order in which they may be used is statutory, set by article 37A of the Development Management Procedure Order: on-site first, then registered off-site gain, and credits last.
For development that is not major, applications made on or after 6 August 2026 treat on-site and off-site gain as equally preferred, with credits still last.
Defra’s credits guidance puts it plainly: developers can combine all three, but must follow the steps in order.
How big the gap is comes from the statutory biodiversity metric, whose headline results show a unit deficit for each unit type.
| Route | Who supplies it | Price set by |
|---|---|---|
| On-site habitat | The developer, within the red line | — |
| Off-site units, own land | The developer as landowner | — |
| Off-site units, bought | A gain site owner or habitat bank | The seller |
| Statutory credits | Natural England for Defra | Defra's published list |
The register
The biodiversity gain site register, step by step
Section 100 of the Environment Act 2021 created the register, and SI 2024/45 requires Natural England to establish and keep it.
Paragraph 10 of Schedule 7A defines “registered offsite biodiversity gain”: habitat enhancement that a conservation covenant or planning obligation requires, and that is recorded on the register.
Land can be registered by its owner or leaseholder, or by someone acting for them, according to the government’s registration guidance.
The application needs proof of ownership or lease, a boundary document, a legal agreement securing the land for at least 30 years, a completed metric calculation covering all the secured land, a habitat management and monitoring plan, and a local land charge search dated within the last two months.
Registration costs £639, paid within 28 days, and an unpaid application is rejected.
Each sale is then recorded as an allocation to a development, for £45, and a site can be registered and allocated in the same application.
The developer needs the register reference for the biodiversity gain plan.
| Application | Fee |
|---|---|
| Register land as a gain site | £639 |
| Record allocation to a development | £45 |
| Amend information (depending on grounds) | £639 or £45 |
| Remove an entry | £89 |
| False or misleading information | £5,000 penalty |
Buying and selling units
Off-site units: a private market with public rules
Off-site biodiversity units are bought and sold privately, and no government body sets their price.
Defra’s credits guidance says statutory credit prices are not guideline prices for off-site units, so this page gives no market range.
What the metric does set is how much a unit is worth to your scheme: the spatial risk multiplier in the metric user guide scores habitat at 1.0 within the same planning authority or National Character Area as the impact, 0.75 next door, and 0.5 further away.
So a unit bought locally can be worth twice as much to a development as the same unit bought at a distance.
A landowner can sell units only after entering a section 106 planning obligation with the planning authority, or a conservation covenant with a responsible body, according to Defra’s guidance on legal agreements.
The agreement must run at least 30 years from the date the habitat enhancement works are finished, and a leaseholder needs a lease at least that long or must bring in the freeholder.
Enhancement works can be capital works, such as planting or pond digging, or simply stopping activities that prevent the habitat improving, such as fertilising grassland.
Statutory credits
Statutory credits: the last resort, priced by Defra
Defra publishes the price of each credit tier and reviews it every six months, giving at least ten weeks’ notice of changes.
| Tier | Habitat | Price per credit | Cost per unit short (2 credits) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Area habitat | £42,000 | £84,000 |
| A2 | Area habitat | £48,000 | £96,000 |
| A3 | Area habitat | £66,000 | £132,000 |
| A4 | Area habitat | £125,000 | £250,000 |
| A5 | Area habitat | £650,000 | £1,300,000 |
| H | Hedgerow | £44,000 | £88,000 |
| W | Watercourse | £230,000 | £460,000 |
There is no statutory instrument setting these prices: section 101 lets the Secretary of State make arrangements to sell credits and requires the amount payable to be published.
It also requires the price not to discourage registration of land on the gain site register, which is why Defra’s price list describes a mark-up to prevent credits undercutting the off-site market.
The metric tool sorts any deficit into tiers and applies the spatial risk multiplier, and the credits guidance explains that a credit is worth 0.5 units.
To justify credits, the gain plan must show why on-site gain is not possible, and that at least three suppliers, habitat banks or trading websites were approached without finding enough off-site units.
That second step is not needed where the shortfall is under 0.25 units.
Credits cannot be used where the metric tool says bespoke compensation is required, which happens when building on some habitat types; the planning authority advises on that.
Work it out
A 10% target and credit cost calculator
Enter the unit totals your metric tool reports for each unit type: the baseline, what will be on site after development, and any registered off-site units.
The calculator tests each type separately against a 10% gain, as Rule 2 of the metric requires.
Where a type falls short, it shows the credits needed at two per unit and their cost at Defra’s published tier prices.
It is arithmetic, not advice: it ignores the trading rules and irreplaceable habitat, and credits are only open to you once the on-site and off-site steps are exhausted.
10% target and credit calculator
Enter the unit totals your metric tool reports. Each unit type is tested on its own.
- Area habitat unitsShort of 10%
Target 11 · shortfall 1 · 2 credits at tier A1 · £84,000
- Hedgerow unitsTarget met
Target 0 · shortfall 0
- Watercourse unitsTarget met
Target 0 · shortfall 0
Statutory credit cost if bought: £84,000
Illustrative arithmetic, not advice. Credits are a last resort and need the planning authority’s confirmation first; trading rules and irreplaceable habitat are not modelled. Prices: Defra, 2 June 2026, no VAT. Nothing you entered was stored or sent.
The process
How to buy statutory biodiversity credits
Natural England sells statutory credits on behalf of Defra through a credit sales service.
There is no minimum or maximum purchase, and fractions of a credit can be bought if rounded to two decimal places.
The credits guidance says the planning authority should confirm that credits can be used before they are bought, and approval of an application can take up to eight weeks.
Credits are bought for one planning permission and cannot be transferred, although earlier purchases count towards a section 73 variation of the same permission.
Section 101(6) ring-fences the money to habitat enhancement in England, buying land for that purpose, and running the scheme.
Credit purchases are non-refundable.
Defra advises not buying until you are ready to submit the gain plan and discharge the condition.
For the rest of the BNG sequence, see the biodiversity net gain hub or check the BNG exemptions first.
To talk a specific scheme through, you can book a free 15-minute call.
- Step 1Estimate the cost
From the tiers in the metric tool's unit shortfall summary.
- Step 2Agree it with the planning authority
The authority should confirm credits can be used before you buy.
- Up to 8 weeksApply and be approved
Through the credit sales service.
- Step 4Invoice and pay
Non-refundable; fractions to two decimal places.
- Step 5Submit proof of purchase
With the biodiversity gain plan.
Source: Defra, Statutory biodiversity credits
Frequently asked
Questions people ask
What are BNG credits?
Statutory biodiversity credits are sold by the government, through Natural England, under section 101 of the Environment Act 2021. A developer can buy them to count towards the 10% gain only as a last resort, where on-site habitat and registered off-site units are not possible. The money funds habitat enhancement elsewhere in England.
How much do statutory biodiversity credits cost?
Defra's price list, last updated 2 June 2026, sets area habitat tiers A1 £42,000, A2 £48,000, A3 £66,000, A4 £125,000 and A5 £650,000, hedgerow £44,000 and watercourse £230,000 per credit. VAT is not charged. Because a credit is worth half a unit, you need two credits for every unit you are short, so the cost per unit is twice the tier price.
What is the difference between BNG units and BNG credits?
Off-site biodiversity units come from habitat created or enhanced on land registered as a biodiversity gain site, bought on the private market or delivered on your own land. Statutory credits are sold by the government as a last resort. Units are priced by their sellers; credits have a published price list. Defra says credit prices are not guideline prices for off-site units.
What is the biodiversity gain site register?
The register of land where habitat enhancement is secured for biodiversity net gain, kept by Natural England under the Biodiversity Gain Site Register Regulations 2024. Off-site gain counts towards a development's 10% only if it is recorded on the register and allocated to that development.
How much does it cost to register a biodiversity gain site?
£639, payable within 28 days of applying. Recording the allocation of units to a development costs £45, and removing an entry £89. Supplying false or misleading information in an application can lead to a £5,000 financial penalty.
When can you use statutory biodiversity credits?
Only when on-site and off-site options are not possible. The gain plan must include evidence that on-site gain was considered and why it is not possible, and evidence that at least three local or national suppliers, habitat banks or trading websites were approached and that insufficient off-site options are available. That second step is not needed where less than 0.25 units are required.
Can I sell biodiversity units from my land?
Yes, if you are the landowner, or a leaseholder with a lease at least as long as the agreement. You enter a section 106 planning obligation or a conservation covenant securing the habitat for at least 30 years from when the enhancement works finish, register the site with Natural England, and record each allocation to a development.
Can statutory credits be refunded or transferred?
No. Purchases are non-refundable, so Defra advises buying only when you are ready to submit the biodiversity gain plan. Credits are bought for a specific planning permission and cannot be moved to another, although earlier purchases count towards a section 73 variation of the same permission.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner. Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- legislation.gov.ukEnvironment Act 2021, section 100 — biodiversity gain site register
The register's statutory basis.
- legislation.gov.ukEnvironment Act 2021, section 101 — biodiversity credits
The power to sell credits, the duty to publish prices, and the ring-fence on receipts.
- legislation.gov.ukTown and Country Planning Act 1990, Schedule 7A, paragraphs 2 and 10
Registered off-site gain and credits count towards the 10%; what "registered offsite biodiversity gain" means.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2024/45 — Biodiversity Gain Site Register Regulations 2024
Natural England establishes and keeps the register; applications to register and allocate.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2024/46 — Biodiversity Gain Site Register (Financial Penalties and Fees) Regulations 2024, Explanatory Memorandum
¶7.4: £5,000 penalty for false or misleading information; ¶7.6: fees payable within 28 days.
- legislation.gov.ukDevelopment Management Procedure Order 2015, article 37A
The statutory order: on-site, then registered off-site, then credits.
- Defra / Natural EnglandRegister a biodiversity gain site (last updated 2 June 2026)
Who can apply, the documents needed and the £639 fee.
- Natural EnglandBiodiversity gain sites register: terms and conditions
The fee annex: registration, allocation, amendment and removal.
- DefraStatutory biodiversity credits
When credits may be used, the evidence required, the purchase process and the spatial risk multiplier.
- DefraStatutory biodiversity credit prices (last updated 2 June 2026)
Tier prices; no VAT; six-monthly review with at least 10 weeks' notice.
- DefraEnter a legal agreement for biodiversity net gain (last updated 2 June 2026)
Planning obligations and conservation covenants; the 30-year period for off-site gains.
- DefraThe Statutory Biodiversity Metric — User Guide (June 2026)
Calculating a statutory credit requirement; spatial risk scores.
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