BNG, from the landowner’s point of view, is of great interest says Sir Edward Milbank, Director of CSX and owner of Barningham Estate. Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is a key development of the Natural Capital markets, and I see BNG as one of several private sector nature-based opportunities for my business. At Barningham, we’ve been actively involved in BNG since 2019, as at first a participant in Natural England’s statutory credit pilot project.
I’ve taken eight potential habitat creation projects through the BNG metrics, including new wetland creation, new woodland planting, restoration of traditional hay meadows, hedgerow creation and riparian protection. Of those I’m taking three forward as offsite habitat banks through CSX.
To make a change of land use commitment for 30 years (and probably in perpetuity), is a difficult decision to make, however the projects I have chosen are not only the best areas of land for biodiversity, but they are also areas of the least productive land on the estate. With new revenue options available, I’m looking at my land through different eyes, considering which parcels of land may be better supporting nature in a post BPS world.
My confidence in the private sector natural markets is growing, and I’m not alone: At CSX, over the past few years, at conferences and agricultural shows, we’ve spoken to hundreds of farmers, and the appetite for change is clear.
BNG shortly becomes mandatory, and some local authorities have already applied 10% BNG to development and landowners are already selling offsite BNG units. There is a real chance that a lack of BNG units, or a lack of administration of the process, will create logjams within the planning system.
As developer demand for BNG increases opportunities will arise for landowners willing to create biodiverse habitats on their land. This is just the start of the private sector markets: A 2021 report, commissioned by DEFRA, suggested the annual market for offsite BNG units could be £175m-250m in England alone. However, this pales before the recently released Government’s Green Finance Strategy which sets an annual target of £500m of private investment into nature recovery by 2027, and over £1bn by 2030.
No wonder that landowners are being approached by environmental consultancies offering to lease their land. We’ve heard reports that some of the ‘offers’ are for as little as £300 / acre / annum, which doesn’t quite tally with the reports that offsite BNG units in Kent have been sold for £35,000.
To get hold of BNG units, we know of developers knocking on landowner’s doors asking to buy their land or asking the landowners to create offsite habitat units on their behalf. But as any land manager will know, it’s not as simple as that: Only the landowner will know the current tenure, existing land restrictions, the farm’s current tax position and the likely future ownership of that land.
It’s clear to me as a land owner that BNG must be led by the supply side, after all we need supply to create the market. It’s therefore critical that the landowner keeps control of the data and the decision-making process. CSX gives landowners this control, delivering baseline BNG calculations and ongoing monitoring, supporting legal agreements and providing access to the market.