Pre-Planning BNG Advisory: How We Saved £2 Million

We recently helped a client reduce their Biodiversity Net Gain expected costs from £6 million to £4 million.

Not by cutting corners or reducing their biodiversity obligations - but by questioning the assumptions in their ecological report and finding more practical solutions within the BNG framework.

The difference? A commercial eye on BNG.

When £6 Million Becomes £4 Million

The developer had commissioned an ecologist to assess their site, but when the developer went to market with those recommendations, many quotes came back at £6 million.

The main issue was an assumption about habitat loss beneath solar panels. 

The ecologist had assessed this as a loss of biodiversity, which we didn't think was justified given the site conditions and how solar installations function. When we challenged that assumption, that correction alone removed a significant number of required units.

We also found habitat creation proposals that would have been costly to deliver in practice - and weren't required.

The Commercial Perspective

At this phase of where BNG is, having an expert that's looking at it from a commercial viewpoint is really valuable.

By working through the report and identifying where assumptions could be revisited or where more pragmatic alternatives existed, we were able to reduce the overall BNG requirement while still meeting all compliance obligations.

We've found that extra level of service is something clients really value.

There have been other instances - looking at planning applications and BNG conditions and realising that perhaps they don't have to do 10% Net Gain

Why We Do This

We're there to help from a commercial perspective where we can. You could argue as a broker, why are we doing that? We make more money when we sell more units.

But in the long term, our clients come back to us again and again because of that trust level. 

That's what we're all about.

Need BNG advisory for your project? Our team combines brokerage expertise with commercial strategy to ensure you're meeting requirements without overspending.

Get in touch: info@biodiversityunits.com | 0203 105 0776