From January 2024, any new housing or infrastructure development in England is subject to new biodiversity net gain (BNG) rules and guidelines. They state that if a project needs planning consent, developers need to replace lost biodiversity – and add 10% – somewhere within the same local borough. That land must then be preserved for at least 30 years.

The ultimate goal is to create and maintain more natural habitats and improve our local environments. To do this, developers and planning authorities can purchase land off-site for biodiversity development. Farmers and landowners can provide that land – a BNG unit – generating substantial short term revenue from their land.