Local Planning Authorities often wish to see in advance how you propose to meet any outstanding biodiversity net gain need via off-site biodiversity units. Availability Certificates ('ACs') are here to help your articulate your intent, and contribute to the overall viability of your proposal.

An AC is often a good choice whenever you are not yet ready to purchase biodiversity units. For example, when submitting your initial planning application. At this stage, buying biodiversity units from any source would likely be premature, as both your overall site plans and your wider BNG solution are yet to be signed off by your planning officer. In other words, if plans are likely to be queried or changed, an Availability Certificate can be an excellent choice.

Read more about when you should purchase biodiversity units.

ACs contain summarised details of the solution you select, confirms that the solution was available, indicates what the search parameters used to form it were, and elaborates that it would have met your biodiversity gain objective, discharging all trading rules correctly. It also indicates that, subject to availability, a solution with like properties could be purchased in future, providing the same functional benefits.

In other words, it articulates how off-site units could have discharged your biodiversity gain objective, and that a like solution could be acquired at a future point. In so doing, we think it provides a great means of establishing buy-in for the use of off-site gains to solve your BNG.

ACs explicitly articulate how your specific site's biodiversity gain objective would be discharged by our solution. Unlike a quote, which merely provides that a certain good is available at a given price, our Availability Certificates are designed to help you navigate the planning process, and refine your biodiversity net gain plans with your planning officer.

In addition, Availability Certificates provide a verifiable third-party point of reference. Every AC includes an authentic BNGx QR code which your planning officer can scan with their phone - whether the certificate is printed or viewed on a screen - which loads a live version of the certificate direct on BNGx, for your planning officer to verify and explore.

Check out our dedicated article on how to use your certificate.