England Biodiversity Net Gain market and Natural England statutory credits
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
- Researchers Sheffield University review: Of 42 housing projects, 53% of the promised ecological features were in place; 41% of councils had no ecologist.
- Government and regulators UK government: The rule requires a 10% gain measured with the biodiversity metric.
- Government and regulators Environmental watchdog: Called the draft Planning and Infrastructure Bill a regression. Local Government Lawyer
Since February 2024 major building projects in England must deliver a 10% biodiversity gain for 30 years, on site or by buying off-site units. The state agency Natural England sells statutory credits as a last resort.
As reported; at the cheapest tier a developer pays £84,000 per unit, against about £11,900 per unit Natural England paid for private units in its second year.
Status As of August 2026: BNG remains in force with small sites exempted from 6 August 2026; no evaluation of ecological outcomes found.
- Environment Bank — Said it owned more than 40% of the sites on the national register and sold to the largest housebuilders. Property Reporter
- Natural England — Collected £206,180 from statutory credits in its first year. GOV.UK
What happened
Since February 2024, large construction projects in England have been required to compensate for the nature they damage with a 10% net gain, and to protect it for 30 years. The rule is called Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). Gain is measured with the government's biodiversity metric, a calculation spreadsheet. A developer who cannot deliver the gain on site buys "biodiversity units" elsewhere.
Private habitat banks price their units freely. As a last resort the government agency Natural England sells statutory credits: £42,000 to £650,000 per credit, with two credits needed per unit. The government has written that these prices were deliberately set "high enough not to compete with the private market". In its first year Natural England collected £206,180 from statutory credits and spent nothing on nature. In its second year it bought private units in Lincolnshire: 44.6 units for £530,000, about £11,900 per unit.
Environment Bank said it owned more than 40% of the sites on the national register and sold to the largest housebuilders. By May 2025 about 3,000 hectares had been listed on the off-site market and 58 hectares, 2%, had been sold.
On measurement, a review of early-adopter councils found that area calculations did not match in about one in five projects and that about a quarter of units fell into a "governance gap" in which they could not be monitored. The metric tracked plant diversity but not birds or butterflies. Sheffield University examined 42 housing projects and found 53% of the ecological features promised were in place; 41% of councils had no ecologist.
In 2025 the Planning and Infrastructure Act opened a route for developers to pay a levy into a Nature Restoration Fund instead of meeting the obligation, which the environmental watchdog called a "regression". On 6 August 2026 projects of 0.2 hectares or less were exempted from BNG, and the government's impact assessment was rated "red" by the independent committee that reviews regulation.
- 2024February: BNG becomes mandatory for major projects in England
- 2025Natural England's first-year statutory credit report: £206,180 collected, no spending on nature. May: about 3,000 ha listed off-site, 58 ha sold. Planning and Infrastructure Act opens a Nature Restoration Fund levy route; watchdog calls it a regression. November: DUAL launches BNG insurance cover
- 202615 June: statutory credit report for 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 published. 6 August: projects of 0.2 ha and under exempted from BNG
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Of 42 housing projects, 53% of the promised ecological features were in place; 41% of councils had no ecologist.
The rule requires a 10% gain measured with the biodiversity metric.
Called the draft Planning and Infrastructure Bill a regression.
Local Government LawyerPrices were deliberately kept high enough not to compete with the private market.
Reports show it paid about £11,900 per private unit while the cheapest statutory tier costs a developer £84,000 per unit.
GOV.UKHow it looked
Shown
- Developers must leave nature 10% better off and protect it for 30 yearsThe BNG rule as described in government material
Recorded
- Natural England collected £206,180 from statutory credits in its first year and spent nothing on nature
- In its second year Natural England bought 44.6 private units for £530,000
- About 3,000 ha listed off-site by May 2025; 58 ha (2%) sold
- Sheffield University review of 42 housing projects: 53% of promised ecological features in place; 41% of councils had no ecologist
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- uk-government (2024–2026): Statutory credit prices were deliberately set high enough not to compete with the private market.
- environment-bank (February 2025): Said it owned more than 40% of the sites on the national register and sold to the largest housebuilders. · Property Reporter
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
- 2025No policy foundDUAL (Howden MGA) → Highlands Rewilding, Bunloit estate
In November 2025 DUAL launched what it described as the first biodiversity net gain and carbon unit cover, which pays for substitute units. Bidwells said such insurance "must exclude" losses caused by landowner failure and that 30-year risks are hard to quantify; Kennedys described it as "a gap in the market". DUAL
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
- Disputed Does the measured gain match gain on the ground?
- Disputed Does the Nature Restoration Fund levy weaken the obligation?
Insurers
- Unclear DUAL (Howden MGA): no decision on record.
Accounts
- Disputed Is the statutory credit price a market price or a deterrent?
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: an average private unit price of about £30,000 in 2024 on one marketplace.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a phosphorus price of up to £42,500 per kilogram in local nutrient credit markets.
- None on record How much of the Nature Restoration Fund levy will reach habitat: no figures in the sources reviewed.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say what Natural England did with the £206,180 collected in the first year, other than that nothing was spent on nature.
Did the harm stop?
The sources reviewed do not report whether biodiversity losses were reduced.
Who paid?
Developers pay for units or credits; the sources reviewed do not trace the cost further.
Sources
Company or project
Government and regulators
Press and investigations
- Biodiversity net gain market is thriving, says Environment BankProperty Reporter · 2025-02-12
- Planning and Infrastructure Bill represents legislative regression, environmental watchdog saysLocal Government Lawyer · 2025-05-06
Connected cases
- DUAL launches insurance for biodiversity net gain units, first at Bunloit estate United Kingdom · 2025 Related matter
- DUAL (Howden MGA) (Insurer) — here: Insurer (BNG cover); there: Insurer; launched the cover
- Nauru and Banaba phosphate mining compensation Nauru · 1920–1993
- Government of the United Kingdom (Government) — here: Sets the rule and the credit prices; there: Gave A$10 million together with New Zealand
- UK agreed up to £21.7bn over 25 years for two CCS clusters United Kingdom · 2024
- Government of the United Kingdom (Government) — here: Sets the rule and the credit prices; there: agreed the 25-year support