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Hertfordshire County Council


Join the service

For landowners

Submit details of your Hertfordshire site or BNG units to include them in our site matching database.

Site submission form

For developers

Complete a site request form and we'll search our database for land that suits your development's requirements.

Site request form


How BNG site matching works

  1. A landowner or land manager submits a site listing form with details of the site's most dominant habitat type, as defined in the Natural England biodiversity metric. The land must be in Hertfordshire.
  2. The site is added to our BNG site matching service database.
  3. A developer submits a site request form.
  4. Within 2 weeks, we provide the developer a detailed report of 3 sites, including the contact details of the land's owner or manager.
  5. The developer connects with the person in charge and negotiates a deal.

 

The BNG Site Matching Service is free to use if you meet all of the following requirements:

  • you represent Hertfordshire Local Planning Authority or Hertfordshire County Council.
  • you contribute to the LEADS Service Level Agreement.


If you do not qualify for the free service, there is a fee of £110 + VAT for each site listing/request form you submit. We'll send you an invoice within 1 week of the date you submit your form, which must be paid before we can add your site to the database or match your request to available sites.

There are no additional fees or commissions charged when a successful match is made.

 

Further charging information for landowners

Where the Hertfordshire based site includes two or more different habitat types covering areas larger than 25m2, each habitat must be listed as a separate site and requires its own site listing form. If you do not qualify for the free service, you'll be invoiced for each submission.

The BNG site matching service is not a marketplace. Its sole function is to connect landowners and developers. Negotiations of any kind regarding listed sites will take place independently of this platform.

Hertfordshire County Council cannot confirm the veracity of details provided by landowners or developers using this service nor can it assist in negotiations or provide advice on individual contractual arrangements of landowners or developers.

All users of the service are encouraged to carry out necessary due diligence before entering into any arrangement regarding BNG.


Getting the most out of this service

Once you've listed a Hertfordshire based site, it will remain on the service's database for as long as you wish, without any additional charges. However, to keep the site listed, you'll need to opt-in every three months. If you fail to respond to the opt-in confirmation email within 28 days, the site will be removed from the database. To relist it, you'll need to submit another form.

Providing more detailed information about your site will allow for better quality matches. Our Countryside Management Service offers free land management advice to landowners and community groups in Hertfordshire on habitat management, restoration and creation. We may be able to support your biodiversity net gain project, including with site management planning, project development and project delivery.

We'll find the best matching sites for you based on the information you give us. The more accurate your information, the higher quality matches we can provide. If you're looking for a site, we suggest being flexible with your search criteria to increase the number of potential matches.

If we don't have exact matches, we'll let you know if there are close matches and give you the option to modify your search criteria for free. If you don't want to modify your criteria, you can choose to receive a refund instead.


Contact us

Please send all queries regarding biodiversity net gain and the BNG site matching service to BNG@hertfordshire.gov.uk.

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