CIVITY NGE Blog

The Biodiversity Gain Site Register is a statutory tool underpinning mandatory BNG (Biodiversity Net Gain) under the Environment Act 2021. It records sites legally committed to delivering off-site biodiversity units, forming a vital part of the biodiversity gain hierarchy. Whether you’re a landowner looking to generate income from your own land or a developer aiming to secure planning permission, understanding this public register is essential. This article outlines the biodiversity gain site register key facts for landowners and developers, clarifying roles, responsibilities, and how Civity supports the process. What Is the Biodiversity Gain Site Register? Launched by Natural England, the gain site register lists all legally secured biodiversity gain sites in England. These sites produce biodiversity units through habitat creation or habitat enhancement and are used to offset habitat lost on development sites that cannot meet their BNG requirement on-site. To appear on the register, a site must have: A legal agreement in place (either a Section 106 planning obligation or a Conservation Covenant with a Responsible Body) A compliant Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan (HMMP) Completion of registration Only registered gain sites can lawfully sell biodiversity units to developers under the current mandatory BNG framework. For Landowners: Unlocking Income Through Registration Registration unlocks the ability to sell biodiversity units from your land, creating long-term income via funded habitat enhancement works. Civity supports landowners through a clear, staged process from free desk-based assessments to full registration on the gain site register. To qualify as a biodiversity gain site, your land must meet the following conditions: Clear land ownership Defined parcels outside any red line boundary of a development site Measurable biodiversity value uplift, demonstrated via the statutory biodiversity metric tool A completed and approved monitoring plan with enforceable legal agreement in place – either an SE106 or Conservation Covenant Agreement Civity manages all legal and administrative steps required to establish a biodiversity gain site, including liaison with the Local Planning Authority or the Responsible Body. We also take care of registering the site with Natural England’s Biodiversity Gain Site Register. We can carry out ecological surveys on gain sites (not on development sites); we work closely with landowners and their ecologists to ensure that baseline assessments and HMMPs meet regulatory and market requirements. We also only begin habitat work once sufficient biodiversity units have been sold to cover full habitat management and delivery costs, reducing financial risk. For Developers: Using Off-Site Units to Achieve BNG Under the biodiversity net gain principle, developers must deliver a minimum 10% net gain in biodiversity. Where this cannot be achieved through on-site gains, off-site biodiversity units from registered sites are required to meet the BNG requirement. Civity offers developers: Access to verified off-site units from our landbanks Support to align with the statutory biodiversity metric Clarification on trading rules and metric tool calculation Assistance in completing the Biodiversity Gain Plan (Schedule 7A) for planning applications We do not assist with securing on-site BNG schemes or DIY off-site BNG on developer-owned land. Instead, we provide a reliable route to secure off-site units backed by compliant registration and legal documentation. Our approach ensures that developers can achieve BNG without needing to navigate complex conservation efforts or engage multiple parties independently. Legal Mechanisms: Section 106 or Conservation Covenant Every gain site must be secured via a legal agreement to ensure delivery for at least 30 years: A Section 106 agreement involves the local planning authority. A conservation covenant involves a responsible body Civity advises on the most appropriate route depending on our working relationship with the Local Authority/Responsible Body and the relative speed and ease of pursuing the SE106 or conservation covenant route. These agreements are central to formalising your commitment to the biodiversity gain objective. Why the Metric Matters All calculations are made using the DEFRA statutory biodiversity metric tool, which assesses the existing habitat, its condition, and the proposed biodiversity enhancements. This tool underpins both the biodiversity gain plan and the allocation of statutory biodiversity units/credits where needed. Each registered site must provide evidence of gains using this metric tool, including: Pre- and post-enhancement/creation assessments Habitat creation targets and delivery rates Long-term management and monitoring schedules Benefits of Working with Civity For Landowners: No need to deal directly with planning authorities or Responsible Body; we manage the full process Fixed minimum payments adjusted for inflation over 31 years Retention of rights to other potential income streams (e.g., nutrient neutrality) Ongoing payments for management, including contingency funding and surplus sharing For Developers: Access to fully compliant off-site BNG units Support aligning biodiversity net gain with local policies and planning permission Confidence that units are from a registered, auditable biodiversity gain site (or will be registered by the time are units are required in full). Streamlined coordination across legal, ecological, and commercial aspects Registration Is a Statutory Requirement Only off-site biodiversity gains need to be registered on Natural England’s Biodiversity Gain Site Register. On-site habitat enhancements, while subject to metric validation and planning authority approval, do not require registration on the national register. For off-site units to be valid and credited toward the developer’s 10% Biodiversity Net Gain, they must be traceable via a formal legal agreement (Section 106 or Conservation Covenant) and appear on the register. Attempting to meet BNG requirements without using the statutory biodiversity mechanisms will likely result in planning applications being refused or subject to delay. At Civity, we ensure every unit transacted is tied to a legally secured, verifiable biodiversity enhancement aligned with national regulations and supported by a robust monitoring plan. Enabling Legal, Transparent Nature Recovery The Biodiversity Gain Site Register is more than a record; it’s the statutory foundation for credible conservation efforts across England. For developers, it safeguards the integrity of your planning permission. For landowners, it transforms land into a reliable long-term income source. Through Civity, you can engage confidently with this process, whether you’re aiming to sell biodiversity units or secure compliant off-site gains.

At Civity, we’re proud to offer BNG units from one of Warwickshire’s most exceptional sites – Edstone Park. As leading specialists in Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), we’ve carefully developed this 200-year-old parkland into a model for how heritage and ecology can work in harmony. This remarkable transformation hasn’t happened overnight. Working with ecological surveys, heritage assessments, and careful management planning, we’ve unlocked the site’s potential to deliver both biodiversity gains and heritage preservation in a sensitive manner. A Living Ecological Treasure The site comprises permanent pasture that is at least 200 years old, supporting several areas of ridge and furrow and numerous mature trees that have witnessed centuries of change. What makes this location particularly special from an ecological perspective is that the entire site is classified as a very high distinctiveness UK Priority habitat: wood-pasture and parkland – a designation that speaks to its exceptional ecological and historical value. A detailed survey of all trees on site confirmed the site supports 163 trees and tree groups, creating a mosaic of features that support diverse wildlife communities. Among these, six trees are potentially ancient, and 17 are veteran – living monuments that provide irreplaceable niches for countless species. These ancient and veteran trees are not just botanical specimens; they’re entire ecosystems in themselves, supporting rare lichens, fungi, and invertebrates and providing crucial breeding and resting sites for birds and bats. The site supports several protected and notable species, creating a haven for wildlife in an increasingly fragmented landscape. Regular sightings include bats using the veteran trees for roosting, brown hare grazing in the historic pastures, and even evidence of otter along the adjacent watercourse. Badgers have established evidence within the parkland, while hedgehogs – increasingly rare in the British countryside – find refuge in the diverse habitat mosaic. Sustainable Management Meets Conservation The habitats at the site are well looked after, with the trees regularly inspected and tended by arboriculturalists as necessary, and the grassland grazed responsibly. This careful stewardship has maintained the site’s ecological value over the decades, but BNG funding now offers the opportunity to enhance it further. BNG funding will allow for additional tree planting to replace historic losses, ensuring the parkland’s tree population remains robust for future generations. Perhaps even more significantly, BNG funding will also allow for the grazing intensity and duration to be reduced, acting as replacement income to enable a return to a historical rotational grazing management rotation that lets grasslands become tall and flower-rich in summer. This approach mirrors traditional land management practices that created the biodiversity-rich landscapes we’re now working to protect. The soil conditions are optimal for enhancing the biodiversity of the existing pastures, with elevated levels of organic matter (likely due to the old age of the grassland itself) and low levels of available phosphate. These conditions are increasingly rare in modern agricultural landscapes, where decades of intensive modern farming have often led to nutrient enrichment that reduces botanical diversity. The site lies adjacent to a local wildlife site watercourse, which is to be fully protected by the proposals, with the riparian corridor enhanced by scrub planting and improvements to the species-richness of the grass. This creates vital wildlife corridors that connect habitats across the wider landscape. A Window into Edstone’s Past The historical significance of this site adds another layer of importance to its conservation. Obtaining EIA (Agriculture) 2006 regulations screening decision required a closer look at historic and archaeological heritage assets to ensure we were not negatively impacting them. To this end, Derek Cater at Network Archaeology was commissioned to undertake a Historic Landscape Assessment, revealing a fascinating story of continuous human occupation and land use. The parkland is around 200 years old, designed and laid out in the early 1800s during the height of the English landscape park movement. The parkland is recorded as a heritage asset for the site of the former Hall and its parkland grounds. Other heritage assets listed by Warwickshire Historic Environmental Record (HER) at the site include: ridge and furrow fields and a deserted medieval settlement, painting a picture of centuries of agricultural and social history. The grounds contained a medieval village, which is now a subterranean archaeological feature with no above-ground remains, preserved beneath the parkland turf. This hidden history adds depth to our understanding of the site’s long relationship with human settlement and land use. A large hall was constructed in the 19th Century: Edstone Hall, which became the centrepiece of the designed landscape. After a brief spell as a hotel, the hall was demolished in the 1930s and rebuilt as a church study campus, reflecting the site’s evolving role in the community over time. The park includes several listed buildings, ridge and furrow fields, pleasure grounds, medieval halls and a serpentine lake – features that tell the story of changing fashions in landscape design and land use over the centuries. Harmonising Conservation Goals What makes this BNG project particularly successful is how the ecological features were sensitively designed to avoid severe impacts on the various heritage assets. The proposals will overall provide a beneficial impact on the parkland in respect of the proposed tree planting, which is appropriate to the existing landscape character and will replace trees that were originally present but have since died or been removed without replacement. This approach demonstrates that biodiversity enhancement and heritage conservation are not competing objectives but complementary goals. By understanding and respecting the site’s historical development, the BNG scheme enhances both its ecological and cultural value. Looking to the Future This site represents a model for how BNG can work in practice – not as a burden on landowners or a box-ticking exercise for developers, but as an opportunity to restore and enhance our most precious landscapes. By combining ecological expertise with historical understanding and supporting it with appropriate funding mechanisms, we can ensure that sites like this continue to provide benefits for wildlife, people, and our cultural heritage for generations to come. The success of this project lies not just in the biodiversity units it will generate, but in its holistic approach to landscape management. It shows that when we value both nature and heritage, when we understand that the two are often inseparable, we can create outcomes that benefit everything and everyone involved. As we move forward with BNG implementation across the country, sites like this historic Warwickshire parkland light the way, showing how careful planning, respect for heritage, and ecological ambition can combine to create landscapes that are richer, more diverse, and more resilient than ever before. BNG Units Available at Edstone Park This exceptional site is now officially registered on the national BNG register. The registration demonstrates compliance with national BNG standards. For developers seeking high-quality BNG units from a site that combines ecological excellence with heritage preservation, Civity offers units from Edstone Park. You can find out more about BNG units for sale at Edstone Park and how purchasing these units supports the long-term conservation of this remarkable landscape. As an authorised BNG provider, Civity offers premium units from Edstone Park. Our ecological expertise ensures your investment delivers both compliance and genuine environmental benefit.