This Solution Finder Page is where you can see - and experiment with! - different ways to increase biodiversity score and comply with your legal obligations. This is the screen where, by experimenting with different ways to create Biodiversity Units, you can achieve a 10% uplift.
It's important that any solution is ecologically sound and complies with the mitigation hierarchy. A "How-to" guide can be found here. The rest of this page will explain how the page works.
What do I need to do on this page?
On this page there are two objectives:
Objective 1: Get a Net Gain Uplift which is, at least, the same as the legal target
The box on the left shows the current score (it will almost certainly be negative). This is the current biodiversity value of your post-development site compared to the baseline (i.e. if you weren't changing anything the score would be 0%, but if you are building over some of the site, the score falls to a negative value). You need, by enhancing, creating habitats and buying offsite units, to get the score up to the legal net gain target displayed in the box on the far right (this may vary from LPA to LPA but will always be at least 10%).
If you have hedgerows and/or waterways, these will be represented as separate boxes, and you need to get each up to the net gain target.
Objective 2: Comply with all the Trading Rules.
If you are building over certain types of habitat, you will need to comply with the trading rules. These basically require you to make sure you replace lost habitats with similar or better habitats of the same type. There is a detailed guide to the trading rules here.
When the red text disappears, you have complied with the trading rules and can proceed.
How do I meet these objectives?
To comply with both, you need to create Biodiversity Units. You can do this by:
First, enhancing habitats that are already on the site.
If you can't get the necessary uplift by enhancements, then you should look to create new, higher-value habitats.
If you still can't get the necessary uplift through creation, then you should look to secure Off-Site Units.
We can't tell you what the best solution is for your site, but there is a guide on how to create Biodiversity Units here with useful resources.
What's on this page?
The page should look like the screenshot below (your page might have two, three or four boxes depending on whether you have hedgerows and/or watercourses on your site).
Let's go through all the different parts of the page:
Your score
Your biodiversity score is set out at the top of the screen in either two or three or four boxes.
Area Loss/Gain After Enhancements. This sets out your current area-based Biodiversity Score. In most cases, this will be negative. For example, if your baseline area biodiversity score is 1 BU and you have destroyed 0.1 BU, the score will be -10.00% (i.e. after building on your development your score is currently 90% of the biodiversity value that it was before you build over it).
Hedgerow Loss/Gain After Enhancements. This sets out your current hedgerow-based Biodiversity Score. In most cases, this will be negative. For example, if your baseline hedgerow biodiversity score is 1 BU and you have destroyed 0.1 BU, the score will be -10.00% (i.e. your score is currently 90% of the biodiversity value).
Waterway Loss/Gain After Enhancements. This sets out your current waterway-based Biodiversity Score. In most cases, this will be negative. For example, if your baseline hedgerow biodiversity score is 1 BU and you have destroyed 0.1 BU, the score will be -10.00% (i.e. your score is currently 90% of the biodiversity value).
Legal Net Gain Target: This is the score you need to reach to comply with the Environment Act 2021. Please note that your Local Planning Authority may require you to get a higher score.
The different types of BNG (area based, hedgerows and waterways)
Under the Government's regulations, you must achieve a 10% increase in biodiversity across three distinct categories: land area, hedgerow, and waterway. Importantly, these categories are non-fungible, meaning you cannot compensate for damage to one category with improvements in another (for example, enhancing a hedgerow does not offset damage to a grassland).
For example, if development occurs on a site that includes a field and a river, you must first determine the biodiversity value of the field and the river separately. Subsequently, you need to develop specific strategies to ensure that the biodiversity value of both the field and the river is increased by at least 10% over their initial values, independently of each other.
The Trading Rules
If you need to comply with the trading rules, it will be set out in red here.
In order to get a compliant metric, you need to make sure that you follow the Trading Rules. These are specific rules that apply up to the point you achieve no net loss and, in a nutshell, basically state that if you build over certain types of habitat you must create a certain quantity of biodiversity units by undertaking actions that enhance/create similar or better habitats to that which was destroyed.
If you see text in red writing, you should click here to see how to comply.
If you don't need to comply with the trading rules, there should be no red text.
Enhancement (auto-selected)
Enhancement is when you improve the condition of your habitat or turn it into a similar - but more distinctive - type of habitat.
In order to create the Biodiversity Units that you need to comply with the trading rules, you should first look to enhance existing habitats.
You will see a list of the habitat parcels on your site under Uplift Options
If you click on one of the habitat parcels, you will see a list of uplift options
Sometimes you will see No Enhancement / Creation options available. This means you should seek to enhance a different habitat.
In other cases, you will see a list of option "cards". These set out what can be done to enhance the habitat. For example, in the example below, there are four options for enhancing the habitat:
Each card does the following:
Set condition. This is always set to "Good" in order to comply with the rules.
Set the strategic significance. This should only be set based on guidance from the Local Planning Authority that the habitat type is of strategic significance in the area
Shows the total possible uplift. This is in the green box and shows how much the habitat parcel's baseline score can be increased. Please note that this is NOT the same as the percentage score at the top of the screen; it is the percentage of the habitat parcel.
Shows the trading rules compliance. This is in the orange and blue box and shows, for example if you have been told by the red text that you need to create a certain amount of "Medium - Grassland", which enhancements will meet that need.
Choose to Enhance some of the parcel. If you click on this, you will return to the map screen, where you will be able to say which part of the parcel you want to enhance.
Choose to Enhance the whole parcel. If you click on this, the whole parcel will be enhanced, except for any part you have marked to be built over
When you select a transformation, you will see the selected card placed near the top of the screen under Selected Options. You will also see the overall score has changed
If you are only enhancing part of a parcel, you can return to the uplift options and continue to make additional changes until you have got the right score.
If you aren't happy with a selected option, you can press the X at the top right of the selected option to delete it.
When you have got the right score, the score box at the top of the screen will go green.
If you only have Area Loss/Gain After Enhancements, you just need to get this one box to go green to comply.
If you have Area Loss/Gain After Enhancements and Hedgerow Loss/Gain After Enhancements, you need both of these boxes to go green to comply.
Remember, you must also make sure that you are trading rules are compliant. If you have any red text, you should look at our guide to see how to comply.
When the box(es) are green and the red text disappears, you can press continue!
If you cannot get to the right score and have exhausted all options, you should move to Creation
Error: The area lost isn't the same as the area created
This error will appear if you have deleted an intended work and there is an inconsistency with the total area masked as lost. In other words, the transformation is so complicated that errors are starting to appear in the metric.
If you are seeing this warning, you may wish to consider purchasing Off-Site Units instead.
If you want to make the changes, you can go back to the main screen and then select the intended work option and make changes there, or delete the intended work.
Creation
PLEASE NOTE THAT CREATING HABITATS CAN LOWER THE BIODIVERSITY SCORE. YOU SHOULD EXERCISE CONSIDERABLE CARE IN SELECTING WHICH HABITATS YOU WANT TO CREATE, AND WHICH HABITATS YOU DESTROY TO CREATE IT
If you have exhausted your options for enhancing habitats on your site and cannot get to the necessary uplift you should move to Creation. Click on the Creation option in the centre of the screen to select this.
The bottom half of the screen will now show you the created habitats. Please note that if you are seeking to create habitats, that may well be seen as significant enhancement and could result in the need to produce a Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan as well as a 30-year deal to maintain the habitats.
This will list your intended works (in the example above, the Developed land; sealed surface) is the house. If you are building to a certain condition that is also listed here.
Clicking on the + symbol will result in returning to the intended work habitats page
Here, you can create new habitats.
When you have created the habitat, you should return to the Solution Finder and see how the score has changed.
When you have got the right score, the score box at the top of the screen will go green.
If you only have Area Loss/Gain After Enhancements, you just need to get this one box to go green to comply.
If you have Area Loss/Gain After Enhancements and Hedgerow Loss/Gain After Enhancements, you need both of these boxes to go green to comply.
Remember, you must also make sure that you are trading rules are compliant. If you have any red text, you should look at our guide to see how to comply.
When the box(es) are green and the red text disappears, you can press continue!
If you cannot get to the right score and have exhausted all options, you should move to Off-Site Units
Off-Site Units
PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU USE OFF-SITE UNITS, YOU MUST MAKE SURE THAT
THE OFF-SITE UNITS COME FROM A REGISTERED SITE;
THE UNITS FULLY COMPLY WITH THE TRADING RULES
YOU HAVE A COMPLETED OFF-SITE METRIC SHEET AS WELL AS DOCUMENTS THAT SHOW YOU HAVE SECURED THE RIGHTS TO THE OFF-SITE UNITS (E.G. A PURCHASE ORDER).
If you have exhausted your options for creating habitats on your site and cannot get to the necessary uplift you should move to Off-Site Units. Click on the Off-Site Units option on the right of the screen to select this.
There are three options on this screen
+ Add Off-Site Units. This will start a multi-staged process:
You will need to set out the reasons for needing off-site units. This should make clear that you have sought to secure on-site units through both a combination of seeking to change the site design to avoid and minimise losses and seeking to enhance existing habitats and options for on-site creation.
You will need to upload your supplier's metric Off-site metric sheet.
You will need to provide information on who you sourced the off-site units from; Statutory Biodiversity Gain Register Allocation Reference; and how the supplier secured their units
Export Current Metric. If you select this option, we will produce a metric sheet for you to send to your potential supplier or exchange. Please note that this sheet will almost certainly have errors in it as you are downloading it before completing the BNG process.
Add Statutory Credit Purchase. This option should only be selected if it isn't possible to secure Off-Site units from the market. You will need evidence that you went to at least three different suppliers (or that an exchange went to three suppliers on your behalf). This will start a multi-staged process:
You will need to set out the reasons for needing statutory credits This should make clear that you have sought to secure on-site units through both a combination of seeking to change the site design to avoid and minimise losses; seeking to enhance existing habitats; considered options for on-site creation; and cannot find appropriate units on the market.
You will need to upload evidence of the market failure (e.g. emails from three suppliers saying that there aren't units for sale).
You will need to provide additional details about the purchase
You will need to provide proof of your purchase from the Government (including the reference number of your purchase)
Questions and Answers
Why are there no enhancement/creation options available?
Why are there no enhancement/creation options available?
There may be different reasons for this. Under the metric's rules, some habitats simply can't be enhanced. Or, you may have already selected "enhance the whole parcel" and, as a result, it isn't possible to change amy more of the habitat any more.