At Northumberland Wildlife Trust, we've recently begun helping developers meet these requirements, and one of the most common questions we've been asked is:

“Why is a conservation charity helping developers meet their planning requirements?”

It's a fair question, so we wrote this blog to explain what Biodiversity Net Gain is, how it works, and why Northumberland Wildlife Trust has chosen to become involved.

What is Biodiversity Net Gain?

The principle is simple: development should leave nature in a measurably better state than before. Where habitat losses cannot be avoided, BNG helps compensate for those impacts through the creation, restoration and enhancement of habitats on-site or elsewhere. Current government policy is that a development must provide a minimum uplift of 10%, but some local authorities have policies that go further.

Measuring biodiversity

Measuring biodiversity directly is incredibly complex. Thousands of species may use a site, and the wildlife present can change over time. Instead, Biodiversity Net Gain uses habitats as a proxy for biodiversity. The biodiversity value of those habitats is measured using a standardised system known as the Biodiversity Metric. The metric considers factors such as:

• Habitat type
• Habitat condition
• Habitat size
• Location of the habitat
• Time taken for habitats to establish

The result is expressed as ‘biodiversity units’. These units allow habitat losses and gains to be measured in a consistent way, ensuring that biodiversity outcomes can be quantified, monitored and compared over time.

What is a habitat bank?

A ‘habitat bank’ is an area of land that is managed specifically to create and enhance habitats for wildlife. These sites generate biodiversity units that can be purchased by developments when they are unable to deliver all their Biodiversity Net Gain requirements on-site.

Importantly, habitat banks are secured through legal agreements requiring habitats to be created, enhanced and managed for at least 30 years. They are also recorded on the Biodiversity Gain Site Register, providing transparency and accountability.

While 30 years is the legal minimum, Northumberland Wildlife Trust's commitment to nature's recovery extends far beyond this. Where possible, we aim to continue managing our habitat banks for wildlife in perpetuity.

Why Earsdon West Forest?

Earsdon West Forest became Northumberland Wildlife Trust's first habitat bank because it offered both opportunity and location. Situated on the Northumberland Coast, just north of Newcastle and North Tyneside, the site has historically been managed for haylage production.

The site sits within the wider Druridge Bay landscape, alongside a network of Northumberland Wildlife Trust reserves and land managed by other conservation organisations. This means habitat creation and enhancement here can contribute to wider ecological networks and support nature recovery beyond the site boundary. Although the site itself does not fall within a priority area identified the North of Tyne Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), it does connect directly to the Ashington to Amble Strategic Recovery Area.

Just as importantly, the site offered significant opportunity for habitat enhancement and restoration. Existing habitats could be enhanced or restored through long-term management, while other areas provided scope for the creation of new habitats.

At our Earsdon West Forest Habitat Bank, we are creating or enhancing:

• Species-rich grassland
• Woodland habitats
• Scrub habitats
• Hedgerows

Together, these habitats will help deliver new opportunities for wildlife within a landscape already recognised for its importance to nature.

Why doesn't Northumberland Wildlife Trust use its existing reserves?

This is where an important concept called ‘additionality’ comes in. Biodiversity Net Gain should create new benefits for nature that would not have happened without investment from development. In other words, BNG should not be paying for conservation actions that we already have a duty to deliver. Instead, it should support genuinely new outcomes for nature.

Our existing reserves are already managed for wildlife, and many are protected by legal designations or conservation objectives that require their habitats and species to be maintained and enhanced. None of this work is new, so it can’t be part of BNG.

That's why Northumberland Wildlife Trust is using new land, like Earsdon West Forest, for habitat banking. This creates opportunities to deliver genuinely additional benefits for nature that would not otherwise have been achieved.

Why has Northumberland Wildlife Trust become involved?

We know some people are uncomfortable with the idea of a wildlife charity becoming involved in a system that is linked to development. However, Biodiversity Net Gain is now a legal requirement for most development in England. The question is not whether BNG should happen, but how it should be delivered.

As a conservation charity with decades of experience creating, restoring and managing habitats, we believe we are uniquely placed to ensure that investment from BNG delivers meaningful, long-term outcomes for wildlife. If BNG funding is going to be invested in nature anyway, we believe it should be directed towards projects that:

• Deliver the right habitat in the right place
• Contribute to landscape-scale nature recovery
• Strengthen ecological networks
• Create genuinely additional benefits for nature
• Are managed by organisations with long-term conservation expertise

Unlike commercial habitat banking companies, Northumberland Wildlife Trust is not accountable to shareholders. Any surplus generated through BNG can be reinvested into our wider charitable work, helping support conservation projects, habitat restoration and nature recovery initiatives across Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland.

Equally crucial, our ambitions extend beyond habitat creation alone. BNG uses habitats as a proxy for biodiversity, based on the understanding that healthy habitats support healthy wildlife populations. Creating and enhancing habitats is therefore the foundation of BNG, but our focus is also on the species that depend upon them. Through long-term monitoring, practical conservation action and our wider work across Northumberland, we want BNG investment to contribute to tangible outcomes for wildlife. Depending on the needs of the species and landscape, this could include targeted conservation projects, species recovery work, and even opportunities for reintroductions where appropriate.

We also believe local communities should benefit from nature's recovery. Through engagement, volunteering, education and access to nature, we want people to be part of the journey as habitats develop and mature over time.

In short, we see Biodiversity Net Gain as more than a mechanism for creating biodiversity units. It is an opportunity to channel investment from development into long-term conservation, helping people and wildlife thrive together across Northumberland, North Tyneside, Newcastle and the North of Tyne area. These principles form the basis of our Gold Standard approach to Biodiversity Net Gain and help ensure investment supports the priorities identified through the North of Tyne LNRS.

Biodiversity Net Gain is still a relatively new approach, and we recognise that people will have questions about what it means for wildlife and conservation. We'll continue to share updates from Earsdon West Forest as habitats develop, wildlife responds and our first habitat bank begins to demonstrate what good Biodiversity Net Gain can achieve in practice.

To explore our BNG offer, visit nwt.org.uk/bng.