Guidance

Estimate the cost of statutory biodiversity credits

Use this service to estimate the cost of statutory biodiversity credits for a development.

From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Natural England
Published
12 February 2024
Last updated
262 June 20252026 — See all updates

Applies to England

This page applies to:

  • developments that need planning permission
  • nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs), from 2 November 2026

We need to know whether your statutory biodiversity credit type is Area, Hedgerow or Watercourse. All habitats fit into one of these groups and in each of them, there are credit tiers. There are five credit tiers in Area, A1 to A5, one in Hedgerow, H and one in Watercourse, W.

The number of statutory credits is worked out from the information you inputted into the statutory biodiversity metric calculation tool. You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide.

This service gives an estimate only.

You will need to discuss your potential credit requirements with with:

  • the local planning authority.

    authority, if your development needs planning permission
  • the relevant discharging authority, if your development is an NSIP

You can buy statutory biodiversity credits after you get an estimate.

Start now

What you’ll need

From your completed statutory biodiversity metric tool, you’ll need the credit:

  • type
  • tier (area A1 to A5, H or W)

Contact us if you need help

Email: biodiversitynetgainenquiries@naturalengland.org.uk

We aim to reply within 10 working days.

Give feedback on this guidance by completing a short survey.

Updates to this page

Published 12 February 2024
Last updated 262 June 20252026 + show all updates

  2. Removed the contact telephone number due to changes to the service. If you need help, you should now email biodiversitynetgainenquiries@naturalengland.org.uk.

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