Habitat Banks and BNG
Biodiversity Gain Sites, which are more commonly referred to as 'habitat banks', are an important part of the Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) system.
For developers, if you can meet all of your BNG obligations on your development site, then you will not need to involve yourself with a habitat bank. However, if you cannot sensibly or viably provide your full BNG obligations on-site, then turning to a habitat bank might be the most appropriate option for you.
For significant landowners, including farmers, creating a habitat bank on your land might be an attractive business opportunity as well as an opportunity to gain funds to deliver nature recovery on your land.
This webpage first sets out some essential preliminary information on how to set up a habitat bank on your land. It then provides advice to developers who may be interested in approaching a habitat bank to help you comply with your BNG obligations.
How to set up a Habitat Bank
East Cambridgeshire District Council is very supportive of any landowner who wants to set up a habitat bank in the district. The creation of improved or new habitats will help towards our long term ambition of Bring Back Nature to East Cambridgeshire.
Setting up a habitat bank is a significant long term commitment, but, if done successfully, can provide a significant income stream as well as a nature-rich legacy for future generations.
The basic reason for setting up a habitat bank is so that you can sell to developers the biodiversity units you have created. Typically, a habitat bank is of a significant size and probably at least ten hectares or more. Smaller habitat banks would struggle to be a financially viable option because of the set up and administrative costs. Each biodiversity unit you create as part of your habitat bank can be worth tens of thousands of pounds, so the more units you create the greater the returns could be. However, there are significant costs and risks involved in setting up a habitat bank, so you will need to seek specialist advice to help you. East Cambridgeshire District Council will happily provide basic initial advice, but beyond such early assistance you will need to secure your own independent help.
We anticipate that the most common form of habitat bank creation will be from farmers looking to diversify some of their land away from traditional farming, perhaps because the land is poor quality or subject to flooding, and instead 'farm' the land for nature. As well as gains for nature, it is entirely possible that the right land in the right place with the right management plans can deliver greater financial returns as a habitat bank than would be the case from continued traditional farming, but this is a matter for you to investigate and consider the risks involved.
If the initial concept interests you, please next review the guidance on government's webpage Sell Biodiversity Units as a Land Manager (external link). We do not repeat such advice on this webpage, but instead explain how we are happy to help at those stages where the council can get involved.
East Cambridgeshire District Council's support in setting up a Habitat Bank
Whilst optional to you, we are happy to provide basic initial advice on how to set up a Habitat Bank and discuss the options you have for your site. However, we cannot provide technical help such as ecological surveys and habitat management advice for your site.
If you decide to take the proposal further, you will need to seek specialist advice. We will be happy to discuss emerging proposals with you or your specialist advisors, if you would like to do so.
A crucial next step in the process is securing the biodiversity units you have created (or intend to create) via a legal agreement. You will have two options: a 'conservation covenant' or a 's106 agreement'. Basic information on each is given below, including the council's assistance with each, but national government advice is available at Enter a legal agreement for Biodiversity Net Gain (external link).
Conservation Covenant
A conservation covenant agreement is a private, voluntary agreement to conserve the natural or heritage features of the land. The agreement sets out what a landowner and responsible body must or must not do to help conserve the land become and it becomes legally binding as a conservation covenant. It must be signed by two parties, namely the landowner and a 'responsible body'.
Detailed national advice is available for conservation covenants (external link) and who can act as a responsible body (external link).
East Cambridgeshire District Council has the option of registering as a 'responsible body', but at the present time it has not opted to do so. Therefore, if you want to set up a habitat bank and secure it with a conservation covenant, you will need to seek your own responsible body to work with.
S106 Planning Obligation Agreement
S106 Agreements have been around for a long time in the planning system and are typically used, in simple terms, as an agreement between the local council and a developer to make sure the developer provides local infrastructure as part of their development scheme. However, a s106 agreement can be used for wider reasons, including scenarios where no developer is directly involved. This means they can be used as a legal agreement between the Council and a landowner for the purpose of securing the biodiversity units created, or to be created. For national Government advice on what a s106 agreement is please review Planning Obligations (external link), though please note such advice is primarily aimed at the more common form of s106 Agreement rather than a BNG based s106 Agreement.
Unlike a Conservation Covenant, only a landowner and the local planning authority (East Cambridgeshire District Council in our case) can sign a s106 Agreement. There is no option to sign it with a separate responsible body.
We are very happy to help you with formulating and agreeing a s106 Agreement with us. However, please note there is a fee for this service.
Whilst in principle we welcome the opportunity to enter into a s106 Agreement with you in support of your habitat bank that you have created, or intend to create, please note that we are not obliged to enter into any such agreement. Any such agreement therefore must be reasonable and enforceable, and not place the Council at any unnecessary risk or burden.
Typically, the s106 Agreement will include steps for monitoring the habitat gains you have made, and whether the land is being managed appropriately. There are likely to be trigger points at years 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 when the Council will require you to submit information to the council reporting on progress and the council will check it is progressing appropriately. We have the power to take enforcement action if you do not comply with the Agreement throughout the minimum 30 year period, though we would always try to work with you first to resolve any challenges you have faced and give you reasonable opportunities to put things right.
Habitat Banks and Developers
It is possible for a developer to create and own a habitat bank (or Biodiversity Gain Site), and in which case the above advice is of equal interest to you.
However, most developers are likely to engage with a habitat bank in order to purchase BNG units when they are unable to provide BNG on their own development site or land.
The purchasing of BNG units is a 'free market', with the price agreed between the developer and the habitat bank owner. There is no national or local set price for units, and East Cambridgeshire District Council will not get involved in any such negotiations or purchases.
How many units you need to purchase, the type of units and where you purchase the units is all dependent on the BNG you need to secure in order for your development to comply with the minimum 10% BNG. This can be quite complicated, so you will need to secure specialist help, such as an ecologist, to support you and make sure you buy the right units from the right place.
Here in East Cambridgeshire we are looking to support the set up of habitat banks which sell a variety of different types of biodiversity units. However, once set up, we will not promote or encourage any particular habitat bank over another. It will be your responsibility as a developer to seek a habitat bank suitable for your needs. To help, we will list known habitat banks in our district on this webpage, with brief details of what the habitat bank is. However, it is your responsibility to check the official Biodiversity Gain Sites Register (external link) to check the habitat bank remains available for selling units, and whether any other habitat banks are available to meet your needs.
Habitat Banks in East Cambridgeshire
There are presently no known habitat banks (Biodiversity Gain Sites) in East Cambridgeshire (last update 30 April 2024).
Please check the national Biodiversity Gain Sites Register (external link) for the latest information.
Further advice
If you would like to know more about setting up a Habitat Bank in East Cambridgeshire, please contact customer services and ask to speak to the council's Senior Ecologist.