BNG units for industrial, logistics, office and retail schemes
Commercial sites rarely have room for meaningful on-site habitat. For most, off-site units carry the whole requirement. BNG Sourced by Green Acres BNG sources them from providers across England, free for developers.
- One requirement, one point of contact, supply from across England
- Every option checked against your metric, the trading rules and the spatial risk multiplier
- Whole and fractional units of all three types, with planning-ready documentation
- Free for developers: where our involvement results in an introduction, the provider pays us an introduction fee
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Why commercial schemes lean on off-site units
Large floorplates, yards and car parks leave little land for habitat creation and what is created on site is often low distinctiveness. The metric then shows a sizeable off-site deficit, usually in area habitat units and sometimes hedgerow units where field boundaries are lost. Buying units is the practical route and the sooner supply is secured the less programme risk you carry.
What matters most
- Distinctiveness of the habitat lost: former arable or hard standing is low, grassland can be medium and anything high distinctiveness must be replaced like for like or better
- Location of supply: local units count in full, adjacent 0.75, elsewhere 0.5
- Timing: discharge of a BNG condition can hold up a start on site, so forward allocation is worth considering
How we help
Tell us your requirement once. Our specialists source potential supply from landowners, habitat bank operators and BNG providers across England, check it against your metric and the trading rules and make the introduction. You agree price and terms directly with the provider.
Logistics scheme with an off-site deficit?
Tell us your requirement and we'll start sourcing today.
A worked example: a 9,000 square metre warehouse
A logistics developer takes 2.4 hectares of arable land beside a trunk road for a single-unit warehouse with yard and parking. Arable is low distinctiveness, so the baseline is small: 2.1 area habitat units, plus 0.3 hedgerow units in a field boundary that is kept and 0.2 watercourse units in a ditch that will be culverted for the access. Post-development the landscape strip and attenuation pond give back 1.1 area units. The 10% uplift sets the targets at 2.31 area units, 0.33 hedgerow units and 0.22 watercourse units. Off site, the scheme needs 1.21 area units, 0.03 hedgerow units and 0.22 watercourse units.
The watercourse deficit is the hard part. Watercourse units are scarce in every region and must be met with the same unit type. We find the area units locally and, for the watercourse units, a river restoration scheme in an adjacent area, which means buying 0.3 units (0.22 divided by 0.75). Early identification of the culvert mattered: redesigning the access to keep the ditch open would have removed the scarcest requirement altogether.
Three decisions that cut commercial BNG costs
- Keep hedgerows and ditches where the layout allows. Linear losses create the scarcest deficits.
- Specify the landscape strip to a habitat type and condition that scores well in the metric, not just amenity grass.
- Fix the requirement early and allocate before you need to submit the gain plan, so the start on site is not delayed.
Commercial developer questions
We only have a planning condition, not a metric. Can you help?
Yes. Send us the condition wording and whatever your ecologist has produced. We can start from a draft requirement and refine it.
Do hedgerow and watercourse units matter for commercial sites?
They do where field boundaries or ditches are removed. Each unit type must be replaced with the same type, so we source all three.
How long does allocation take?
It depends on the provider and your planning authority. Securing units early and having planning-ready documentation from the provider keeps it short.
Do student accommodation and office schemes need BNG?
Yes if they need planning permission and are not exempt. Urban schemes on previously developed land usually have small deficits met with fractional units.
Can a landlord buy units for a tenant fit-out?
The permission holder is responsible for the gain plan. Units can be bought by anyone, but they are allocated to the development.
Does the attenuation pond count towards BNG?
A pond created as habitat can score as an area habitat if it is designed and managed for nature, not just drainage. Your ecologist assesses it.
Related: how it works, BNG unit prices, exemption checker, all guides.
Ready to source units?
Tell us what the metric needs and we will do the rest.
- One requirement, one point of contact, supply from across England
- Options checked against your metric, the trading rules and the spatial risk multiplier
- Free for developers: where our involvement results in an introduction, the provider pays us an introduction fee
- A specialist in touch, typically within one working day
Free for developers. Your details are only used to source your units.