BNG Screening Tool

Estimating a development site's viability in terms of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and allowing nature to be placed at the forefront of strategic decision-making.
Nature Biodiversity and Environmental Net Gain

Problem Addressed

Supporting the delivery of biodiversity net gain and implementation of the mitigation hierarchy for the development sector.  The tool helps developers reduce the costs and removes the data barriers associated with BNG compliance.

Solution overview

The Biodiversity Net Gain Screening tool is a low-cost, easy to use tool, that estimates a development site’s viability in terms of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and allows nature to be placed at the forefront of strategic decision-making.

Developments will soon be required to deliver +10% BNG in England, and the mitigation hierarchy recommends developers try to avoid impacts in the first instance. The BNG Screening Tool allows the biodiversity implications of a development project to be understood instantly at any time of year. It can be used at any time of year, across England, and an unlimited number of sites can be entered at once.

Biodiversify have designed the tool with ease of use in mind. By just entering the location of the development site(s), the tool automates the process of conducting a desk-based review, analysing high-integrity data sources, and instantly providing a huge range of biodiversity information, including what habitats are present, their distinctiveness, the compensation action required if they were removed, the presence of designated sites, and an estimation of the biodiversity units using the Biodiversity Metric calculation.

This could, for instance, help developers reduce risk, minimise costs and avoid delays, help planning authorities understand the BNG implications of different site allocation options, or help anyone carrying out a land search provide important biodiversity information for a site.

This tool helps the mitigation hierarchy to be followed more effectively, and ensures informed decisions are made about nature.

Biodiversify offer PAYG and subscription-based pricing that grows with your business.

Company name

Biodiversify

UK availability

Yes

Solution launch date

May 2023

Links

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Case study

An early version of the tool was used to support Anglian Water in the site selection and design of a 5km2 reservoir.  The outputs of the tool considered both local and landscape level impacts and were supported by the local stakeholders. The BNG Screening Tool was launched in May 2023 and has already gained interest and users from across the development sector. Throughout the development of the tool, developers, LPAs, solicitors carrying out land searches, and ecological consultants provided feedback to ensure the tool was easy-to-use and provided the information they required.

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