Delivering BNG means dedicating land to habitats and restoring or improving ecology, but what’s the best approach for housebuilders and developers; on-site or offsite? And how do you maximise your developable land without compromising on ecology?
Trevor Wells, Director and Co-Founder of The Habitat Bank, a specialist consultancy with an extensive portfolio of bank sites, discusses…
BNG requires developers to create and maintain habitats that secure the delivery of a 10% biodiversity uplift for at least 30 years. While delivering this on-site seems like the easy choice, it can result in costly, and timely, challenges.
One of the most common hurdles is delivering on-site BNG habitats during construction. As well as taking focus away from the development and potentially impacting the build programme, there is also the challenge of maintaining these areas through the construction phase.
Habitats must be managed in a very specific way to deliver the units they are expected to and any deviations from this can have serious, detrimental impacts which may not be recoverable. Couple this with unpredictable weather or invasive species, and a simple plan turns into a long-term headache. Habitats can easily fail if not expertly managed, which may force developers into purchasing BNG units, paying for habitat restoration, or both, leading to significant unplanned costs.
This leads into another challenge, compliance. On-site BNG requires rigorous monitoring and reporting, which can overwhelm teams without ecological expertise. Developers often underestimate the long-term commitment of on-site BNG and without an in-house ecologist, or the know-how to navigate complex habitat assessments, this can be problematic.
Delays in planning approvals due to inadequate BNG proposals are common, eating into timelines and budgets. Budgets are another consideration. On-site solutions demand significant upfront investment and ongoing maintenance costs, which can spiral if. issues arise. We’ve seen projects stalled by unexpected expenses, like hiring specialists to fix failing habitats, which can cause long-term financial risk.
The final challenge is a matter of space. If you’re delivering BNG on site, this can eat into your Net Developable Area (NDA) and, along with other pressures that developments are now subject to, means even more strain on your site’s viability.
So how do you navigate these challenges and still successfully deliver BNG? A hybrid approach, one that blends onsite enhancements (where achievable) with off-setting, is a smart strategy. Commission a thorough biodiversity baseline assessment as early in the planning process as possible. This will quantify your site’s starting point and identify low-effort wins, like retaining existing trees or creating compact biodiversity zones.
Then engage a consultant to understand where you can maximise NDA. For example, it might be that BNG can be integrated into innovative SuDS systems for dual benefits, or if the development is phased, it can be delivered incrementally to maintain cash flow.
Maximising NDA doesn’t mean sacrificing nature; it’s about efficient integration. We’ve seen developers boost coverage by 15-20% through targeted onsite tweaks when combined with the strategy to purchase off-site BNG units.
Off-site solutions allow you to offset shortfalls without carving up your prime developable land. Habitat bank sites are designed specifically to support this, providing ready-made units that you can tap into for compliant, cost-effective gains. All of which are delivered without any liability falling back on the developer.
Trevor Wells is the Director and Co- Founder of The Habitat Bank. The Habitat Bank’s portfolio spans more than 800 acres and is delivering over 1,500 high quality BNG units across the Midlands and along the M1 corridor.
For more information, go to www.rdr.link/dbh026
