GuideBiodiversity Net Gain

The monitoring and management of significant onsite enhancements* and all offsite biodiversity gain sites will need to be legally secured for a minimum of 30 years, although longer agreements may be necessary to ensure more complex habitats reach their target condition. Significant onsite and offsite BNG are likely to be secured through S.106 agreements or conservation covenants. 

A legal agreement is an obligation to enhance and maintain a habitat and must include:

• how the habitat(s) will be maintained
• who is responsible for creating and enhancing the habitat(s)
• who is responsible for the maintenance, management, and monitoring

*For some smaller sites with significant onsite enhancements and all non-significant onsite enhancements, it is likely that this will be secured via planning conditions.

For more information, please visit DEFRA guidance on legal agreements to secure BNG and Planning Advice Service Legal Agreement and Planning Condition Templates.

Monitoring refers to the process of assessing whether habitat delivery is as planned and, where it is not, ensuring appropriate adaptive management procedures are implemented. EDDC has a statutory duty to provide effective monitoring and is essential to the robust implementation of BNG.

There are two types of monitoring:

• Direct Monitoring of individual habitats, i.e., habitat surveys to determine type and condition undertaken by ecologists in the field
• Indirect Monitoring, which is the tracking by LPAs of overall BNG delivery to verify if obligations are being met

Monitoring requirements must be detailed within the Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan and is the responsibility of the applicant. Monitoring costs and schedule are detailed in BNG Monitoring Fee and Schedule. The monitoring periods should be detailed within the submitted Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan (or equivalent documentation, e.g., LEMP).