Biodiversity net gain monitoring fee calculator guidance notes

Under mandatory biodiversity net gain requirements, all off-site and significant on-site biodiversity net gain provision must be legally secured for a minimum of 30 years. For biodiversity net gain schemes that we regulate, for example by entering a section 106 agreement with the site operator, we will monitor progress towards achieving the stated habitat management outcomes.

A Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan will form part of the legal agreement (s106) for the site. We will review monitoring reports sent in by the manager of the site at times set out within the Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan. The monitoring reports will be considered by the ecology team to ensure that these are appropriate and in line with the expected habitat condition at that point in time. A monitoring fee is charged to cover our costs for monitoring the obligations within the Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan.

The monitoring fee covers our costs over the full 30 year term of the agreement. This includes reviewing submitted monitoring reports, conducting site visits where necessary and collaborating with the site owner to agree on any required remedial measures. The fee covers costs of the ecology officer time and liaison with our other colleagues including but not limited to legal services, planning and enforcement.

We have developed a biodiversity net gain monitoring fee calculator to determine an appropriate monitoring fee. For each project a single fee shall be levied, at the commencement of the monitoring period which secures the habitat management and monitoring plan and our oversight of the progress of that plan, (or for multi-stage projects with separate biodiversity net gain completion certificates, at the commencement of monitoring for each phase). The fee is established using the calculator. The calculator reflects our minimum requirements. It is based on:

• the size of the biodiversity net gain site (total area of habitat parcels to be monitored)
• the highest technical difficulty of the habitats to be created and/or enhanced
• the day-rate for an ecology officer at the time the fee is set
• the schedule and number of monitoring intervals
• the current figure applied for inflation (reviewed annually)

Guidance on the application of the calculator

Size category - the applicable size category shall be determined by the total area in hectares of biodiversity net gain habitats covered by the agreement. For on-site biodiversity net gain this shall only include those habitat parcels retained or created for the purposes of biodiversity net gain and which are subject to the Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan secured in the legal agreement. The area boundary should align with that provided within the Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan to be legally secured for 30 years.

For avoidance of doubt, this is the area of habitats to be monitored not the red-line area of the development site. Areas not deemed to be ‘significant on-site biodiversity net gain’ including areas within domestic curtilage should be excluded, so it will not necessarily equate to the total area of habitats scored within the metric post-development metric. Non-significant on-site biodiversity net gain may be secured separately by planning condition which is not liable to a monitoring fee.

Technical difficulty category - the applicable technical difficulty level relates to the most difficult habitat for the site, irrespective of the size of that parcel in relation to the total area of habitats. Technical difficulty categories are defined by the Statutory Biodiversity Metric as low, medium, or high.

Monitoring intervals - the number of intervals and which years the monitoring reports will be submitted to us for consideration will be set out in the Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan. As a minimum we require monitoring reports to be submitted at one, three, five, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years after the establishment of the habitats, thus the number of monitoring events is eight. If a different schedule or number of monitoring intervals is agreed in the Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan, then the calculator will be adjusted to reflect the additional events.

Where works are to be carried out in phases with separate completion certificates (which implies multiple phases on different timelines) this should be discussed with us as soon as possible to discuss the monitoring arrangements and calculate bespoke monitoring fees.

Review of the fees calculator - the tool calculates a figure based upon certain input assumptions, namely the officer day-rate, the number and timing of monitoring events and an inflation-adjustment figure. The calculator tool and the input assumptions will be reviewed periodically by us. As the fees are levied up-front, any changes to the calculator will only apply to new 30-year monitoring arrangements agreed after that point - the changes will not affect existing monitoring agreements once signed. The fee is determined using the iteration of the calculator in use at the time of signing the agreement.

Bespoke monitoring arrangements - the calculator was devised for sites of less than 40 hectares and for a single phase of works after which the 30 year monitoring commences. For sites of 40 hectares or greater, or different intervals, a bespoke monitoring fee arrangement must be agreed.

We will consider a bespoke monitoring fee arrangement proposed by the operator for a site of any size, considering the frequency and type of monitoring feedback they require. For example, a site operator may propose to submit annual reports or a specific schedule of local planning authority inspection visits that exceeds our minimum requirements. We will consider such arrangements on the understanding that projected monitoring costs are adequately covered.

Current scale of fees (approved March 2024)

Monitoring fees standard look up table