Guide : Purchasing Small Site BNG Units

We’ve created this guide for purchasing Small Site BNG Units. We categorise Small Site BNG as anything between 0.01 (1 Hundredth of a BNG Unit) and 0.10 (10 hundredths of a BNG Unit).

The guide hopefully lays out the process for you to make it simple and easy to understand at every stage, but also we’ve developed this method working hundreds of developers over the last 2 years to deliver BNG in the most cost effective way, whilst ensuring you aren’t paying for anything too early - when there’s risk to whether your planning application is approved or not.

1. Ensuring you have the right information

You will need a few things in order to get started buying BNG Units:

1. Ecologists report & DEFRA Metric - provided by your Ecologist

2. Estimated date you’ll be going into planning

3. Estimated date you’ll start construction

4. Details about your company and project to hand

If you haven’t got a DEFRA Metric and Ecologist report we recommend Arbtech - email them here - once they’ve done their work you can come back to us to help buy your BNG Units.

2. Contact us about the project

Contact us via our online form at: https://biodiversity-units.uk/contact-us or email us at info@biodiversity-units.uk

Please include a few details about your proposed development taken from the information above:

• DEFRA Metric and Ecologist report

• Postcode of development

• Planning dates and estimated construction timelines

3. Checking your requirements

Once received, our Habitat Specialist will review your DEFRA Metric and confirm your BNG Requirements. We may even advise you on ways to reduce your BNG requirements if that’s possible. This will save you money.

4. Giving you a cost & ensuring you have the right documents

We’ll then provide you with a quote, detailing the unit types and cost breakdown. 

If you want to proceed, we’ll send you an invoice for a 10% deposit (this reserves your units for 4 months). Once paid we will issue you with 2 documents:

• Letter of Reservation

• BNG Solution Methodology

You will then need to supply these 2 documents to your local planning authority as part of your planning application.

Please note: The Deposit is refundable in the event there is any problem with the BNG Solution we have offered. But not in the event you fail planning for a non BNG related matter.

5. Once Planning is approved

When your planning application has been approved, you must complete your BNG Units purchase before building work can commence. So when you are ready, get back in touch with us to complete your purchase. 

Remember your deposit only reserves the units for 4 months, so whichever comes first commencement or this date - you should complete the purchase ahead of time.

We will then send you the final invoice for the remaining amount. On receipt of payment we will send over your contract with your BNG Supplier to sign electronically.

You will need to share your:

• Biodiversity Gain Plan (This should be filled in by you or your architect with the exception of Section 7 which will be filled in by your Supplier)

• Planning Consent

6. What we’ll provide on Completion

On receipt of these documents and a signed contract, your units will be registered. 
We will supply you with:

• A completed DEFRA Metric

• A unique number for your purchase (to use in the Biodiversity Gain Plan

• Signed purchase agreement & habitat management plan

Send these documents to your LPA in order to get your BNG condition removed

That’s it - you’re ready to go!