🌼 Biodiversity Gains Site Register Update 🌼
The national Biodiversity Gains Site Register, hosted by Natural England, has been live for just over 11 months. This crucial tool supports developers and landowners in meeting biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements by enabling the sourcing of offsite units from registered sites. Let’s take a closer look at the latest updates and key statistics.
Key Highlights
Growth in Registered Sites
▶️ 40 sites are now on the register, a significant increase from 15 sites reported on October 28, 2024.
Land Secured for Nature
▶️ A total of 1054.24 hectares (10.54 square kilometres) of land has been secured for nature for at least the next 30 years.
Allocations from Housing Developments
▶️ 38 allocations have been registered from housing developments, covering a combined area of 12.98 hectares (just 1.23% of the total registered area).
Allocation Sizes:
Average size: 0.34 hectares
Smallest allocation: 0.01 hectares
Largest allocation: 1.88 hectares
Sites with Recorded Allocations
▶️ Only 16 of the registered sites (less than half) have recorded allocations to date.
Looking Ahead to 2025
The number of sites and allocations is expected to rise significantly in the coming year as the market matures and more stakeholders engage with the BNG framework.
However, there are notable discrepancies in the market. Recent reports of BNG unit sales exceeding £10 million from some offset providers do not align with the register’s current data and the prevailing market unit price. It will be interesting to observe how these units, which appear to be held under deposits, are allocated in 2025.
Why This Matters
The Biodiversity Gains Site Register is a cornerstone for achieving landscape-scale biodiversity enhancements. The increasing number of registered sites and allocations reflects growing participation in this vital (and ground-breaking) new initiative. However, as the market evolves, maintaining transparency and accuracy will be crucial to ensure lasting benefits for nature.
Stay tuned for further updates as we continue tracking progress in this dynamic area of biodiversity conservation.