OFF-SITE BNG UNITS

Off-site BNG units.

Off-site Biodiversity Net Gain units help development meet its net-gain requirement when on-site measures are not enough.

BNG SEARCH GUIDE · UPDATED 26 JULY 2026

A practical guide for land, planning and unit decisions.

Development sites are often constrained, so off-site habitat delivery closes the remaining biodiversity gap.

Credible units need baseline evidence, target habitat, management commitments, legal security and allocation traceability.

A unit can be allocated to a development once the gain site and legal/registration requirements are in place.

Spatial relevance and local scarcity affect planning value and commercial demand.

Developers need clear unit type, amount, location, legal route, HMMP and register evidence.

HabitatBank.org connects land opportunity, ecological modelling, legal structure and buyer-ready unit supply.

COMMON QUESTIONS

They are biodiversity units generated away from the development site and used to meet a planning-linked BNG requirement.

They normally follow on-site avoidance, minimisation, restoration and habitat creation options.

Registered gain sites and allocations support traceability and compliance for off-site delivery in England.

RELATED BNG GUIDES