You can apply to record allocation of off-site biodiversity gains to a development if you’re: 

• a landowner or leaseholder of the gain site you’re allocating from 
• another person (for example, a developer or ecologist) who is not the landowner or leaseholder of the gain site 
• an agent acting on behalf of the applicant (a landowner, leaseholder or another person) 

Before you apply 

If you’re an agent acting on behalf of the applicant 

You must be authorised by the applicant,applicant which is either, the landowner.landowner, leaseholder or another person, to record allocation of off-site biodiversity gains to a development on their behalf. They will need to complete an ‘authorise an agent to act on your behalf’ form. You must send this with your application form.  

If you are an employee or a representative of an organisation, you do not need to complete an authorise an agent form.  

If you are an agent acting on behalf of another person who is not the landowner or leaseholder of the gain site, you will need to confirm you have the consent of all landowners or leaseholders to record the allocation. 

How to record allocation of off-site biodiversity gains to a development 

1. You will need to downloaduse and complete the relevantservice forms to record the allocation. TheseThis information will need to be sentemailed to Natural England to be processed. 

2. When we email you back, we will ask you to send us your statutory (official) biodiversity metric calculation and the planning application decision notice for the development project from the local planning authority. We will also give you details on how and when to pay the application fee.
   
   You must send your statutory biodiversity metric calculation to us within 14 days of us requesting it. You should have it ready before you submit your application form.
   
   Once we receive your full application, we will send you an email with confirmation. 

3. You will need to pay the £45 application fee within 28 days of sending us your statutory (official) biodiversity metric calculation. Once we receive your payment, we will send you a payment confirmation email. 

4. We will check your application. We will let you know if we need more information from you or if you have been accepted or rejected. 

We will email you with a decision on your application.

Withdrawals and refunds 

Once we have made a decision on your application you cannot withdraw it. Refunds will not be given.  

You can read the terms and conditions for more information on withdrawals, refunds and how we approve or reject applications.

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