BNG Monitoring Fee Calculator
Compare selected published council monitoring charges and plan an illustrative ecological monitoring budget.
Different councils use different methods, so check the authority responsible for your site before relying on any figure. Our two tools help you see those differences without mixing council fees with professional survey costs.
What might an LPA charge?
Habitat area · site area · technical difficulty
What should I budget for monitoring?
Selected years + field visits + reporting
Open the monitoring budget plannerCompare the authority methods, then explore the separate professional monitoring budget.
BNG Monitoring Fees Are Set Locally
There is no prescribed national fee schedule for monitoring Biodiversity Net Gain obligations.
Local planning authorities can charge for monitoring and reporting on Section 106 planning obligations. However, national planning guidance states that these fees should be proportionate, reasonable and reflect the actual cost of monitoring.
As a result, different authorities use different approaches.
Some publish fee tables based on habitat area and technical difficulty. Others use area bands, individual monitoring reports, officer rates or other locally determined methods.
For a live project, use the current charging method of the host authority.
Which monitoring cost are you calculating?
Council monitoring fee
Compare the three published authority methods to see how habitat area, development site area and technical difficulty affect the charge. Each result applies that council’s method for illustration. It is not a fee determination for your site.
Ecological monitoring budget
Select monitoring years and enter your own survey and reporting allowances in the planner below. It calculates a current-price professional budget. It does not insert ACP rates or add a council monitoring fee.
Before comparing council fees
Enter the BNG habitat area being monitored in hectares. Where you know it, enter the whole development site area separately. North Yorkshire uses monitored habitat area. East Hampshire uses development site area.
Our Stroud example applies the entered habitat area to its published size band. Check the council’s agreed area definition for a real scheme. If an input is uncertain, choose Not sure rather than guessing.
This is ACP’s interpretation of published methods, not an official council calculator.
What Habitat Area Should I Enter?
Enter the area of habitat that will be secured and monitored as part of the BNG commitment. This may be smaller than the whole planning application site. Use the secured habitat area where it differs from the full red-line site area. Where available, check the Statutory Biodiversity Metric, habitat plans and Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan before entering the area.What Is the Total Development Site Area?
Some authorities publish monitoring fees using the overall development site area rather than the BNG habitat area being monitored. Where known, enter the total development site area separately. This allows the calculator to apply authority methods that use a wider site-area band without incorrectly substituting the BNG habitat area.What Does Technical Difficulty Mean?
Some published LPA methods vary the monitoring fee according to the technical difficulty associated with creating or enhancing the proposed habitats. Where this applies, select the highest relevant category:- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Not sure
Your Published LPA Monitoring-Fee Benchmarks
Why Can BNG Monitoring Fees Vary?
Monitoring charges can vary significantly between authorities because there is no single prescribed national BNG monitoring-fee formula.
Depending on the authority, a published method may take account of:
Habitat Area
Some authorities vary their charge according to the area of BNG habitat being secured and monitored.
Others use the wider development site area. Therefore, it is important to check what the relevant authority means by its published size bands.
Habitat Technical Difficulty
Creating or enhancing some habitats involves greater technical risk and potentially greater monitoring input.
Certain authorities therefore use habitat technical difficulty when determining their monitoring charge.
Number and Type of Habitats
A scheme involving several habitat types may require more complex review than a simpler habitat proposal.
Some published authority methods make a specific adjustment for this.
Monitoring and Reporting
The number of monitoring reports and review points can influence the resources required to oversee a BNG obligation.
Site Visits and Officer Review
Officer checks and site inspections also require staff time. Authorities incorporate these activities into monitoring fees in different ways.
Indexation and Payment Arrangements
A published fee may be index-linked or calculated at a particular point in the planning or legal process.
Therefore, the amount eventually payable may differ from an earlier published or calculated figure.
LPA Monitoring Fee vs Ecological Monitoring Cost
These costs are related to long-term BNG delivery, but they are not the same.
| Cost | What it may cover | Usually determined by |
|---|---|---|
| LPA monitoring fee | Authority administration, review of monitoring information, compliance monitoring and relevant site checks | Local planning authority |
| Professional ecological monitoring | Ecological surveys, habitat-condition assessment, photographs, analysis and monitoring reports | Ecological consultant / monitoring provider |
| Habitat management | Mowing, grazing, planting, scrub control, replacement planting and other practical management | Land manager / contractor |
| Remedial measures | Additional actions required where habitat delivery is not progressing towards the agreed target | Project-specific |
| Legal costs | Preparation, completion or variation of relevant legal agreements | Solicitors / authority / responsible body as applicable |
A published LPA monitoring fee therefore does not represent the total cost of maintaining and monitoring BNG over the long term.
Likewise, an ecological consultant's monitoring fee does not normally include the authority's monitoring charge, habitat-management works or legal costs.
Monitoring Programme Budget Planner
An LPA monitoring fee is only one potential cost associated with long-term BNG delivery.
You may also need to budget for ecological surveys, habitat-condition assessments, monitoring reports and additional site visits during the agreed monitoring period.
Use this planner to explore those professional monitoring costs using your own budget assumptions.
Choose an Illustrative Monitoring Schedule
Monitoring frequency is not fixed nationally.
The HMMP should establish when habitat monitoring and reporting will take place. This should reflect the habitats involved, their target condition, delivery risk and the requirements agreed with the relevant authority or responsible body.
For early budgeting, you can start with one of the published examples below or choose your own schedule.
Major-Site Example
Years 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30
8 monitoring/reporting points
This schedule is based on a published local-authority example for major development. It is provided for illustration only and should not be assumed to apply to another project or authority.
Small-Site Example
Years 2, 5, 10, 20 and 30
5 monitoring/reporting points
This is also based on a published local-authority example.
It does not represent a national Small Sites Metric monitoring requirement.
Enter your own budget assumptions to calculate component costs and the current-price total.
How Has This Been Calculated?
The calculator uses only the values you entered.
It assumes one monitoring report for each selected scheduled monitoring year.
The indicative total combines:
- scheduled field monitoring events;
- any additional field visits you entered; and
- one reporting and analysis allowance for each selected monitoring year.
It does not automatically apply inflation, indexation or future price increases.
Current-price total = scheduled events × field rate + additional visits × additional-visit rate + reports × report rate.
When the optional additional-visit rate is blank, the planner uses the field-monitoring rate for those visits.
What Is Not Included?
Unless you have specifically allowed for them within your own entered figures, the result does not include:
- local authority monitoring fees;
- habitat creation or enhancement works;
- routine habitat-management works;
- remedial or replacement works;
- specialist species surveys;
- laboratory analysis;
- specialist botanical or other technical input;
- legal costs;
- land-management agreements;
- conservation covenant or Section 106 costs;
- future inflation or indexation;
- VAT;
- unexpected additional monitoring following habitat underperformance.
The result covers the professional monitoring assumptions entered; allow separately for the wider costs of delivering BNG.
Example: budgeting for ecological monitoring
For an illustrative eight-point schedule, enter £400 per scheduled field event, £250 per monitoring report and two additional visits. Leave the additional-visit rate blank to reuse the £400 field-event allowance.
| Budget component | Calculation | Illustrative amount |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled field events | 8 × £400 | £3,200 |
| Additional visits | 2 × £400 | £800 |
| Monitoring reports | 8 × £250 | £2,000 |
| Total professional monitoring | £3,200 + £800 + £2,000 | £6,000 |
This is a current-price illustration, not an ACP quote. It assumes one report and one scheduled field event in each selected year. It excludes council fees, routine habitat management, specialist surveys not allowed for in the inputs, remedial works, VAT, inflation and indexation.
Your Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan should define the actual monitoring programme.
Illustrative 30-Year Monitoring Timeline
Long-term habitat monitoring should check whether the agreed habitat creation and enhancement measures are progressing towards their intended outcomes.
However, this does not mean that every BNG site must be surveyed or reported on every year.
The monitoring programme should be set out in the HMMP and agreed through the relevant planning or legal mechanism.
Year 1 — Early Establishment Review
Check whether newly created or enhanced habitats are establishing as expected.
Year 1 — Early Establishment Review
Check whether newly created or enhanced habitats are establishing as expected.
Year 2 — Establishment Monitoring
Assess habitat development against HMMP objectives and identify early management adjustments.
Year 5 — Condition and Progress Review
Assess whether habitats remain on an appropriate trajectory towards target condition.
Year 10 — Medium-Term Review
Compare habitat condition and progress with agreed objectives and identify any remedial actions.
Year 15 — Long-Term Progress Review
Review habitat condition, management effectiveness and previous corrective actions.
Year 20 — Continued Performance Monitoring
Check whether habitats remain on course to deliver the committed biodiversity gains.
Year 25 — Pre-Final Period Review
Identify remaining risks to achieving or maintaining the target habitat outcomes.
Year 30 — Long-Term Outcome Review
Assess the habitat against the agreed long-term objectives at the end of the initial 30-year management period.
How Monitoring Supports Long-Term Habitat Delivery
At each agreed monitoring stage, the ecological team may review the HMMP objectives, assess habitat condition, compare progress with the target trajectory and record the findings.
Where monitoring identifies underperformance, management may need to change. This adaptive approach helps identify problems early rather than waiting until the end of the monitoring period.
For more detail on monitoring methods, evidence, reporting and adaptive management, see our BNG Monitoring Framework.
What Should You Check Before Relying on a Monitoring Fee?
A calculator result can support early budgeting, but it should not be treated as the final project charge without checking the underlying authority requirements.
1. Which Authority Is Responsible for the Site?
Check whether the host authority publishes a dedicated BNG monitoring-fee calculator, fee table, Section 106 monitoring schedule, ecology officer rates or a project-specific charging process.
If it publishes its own current methodology, that should take precedence over a benchmark from another council.
2. What Area Does the Authority Actually Use?
Published methods do not all use the same definition.
For example, some refer to the significant on-site or off-site BNG habitat being monitored. Others use the overall development site area.
Always confirm the relevant definition before selecting a fee band.
3. What Is the Highest Habitat Technical Difficulty?
Where an authority uses technical difficulty as an input, the category should reflect the habitats being created or enhanced.
If it is uncertain, use the range until the habitat proposals have been reviewed.
4. How Many Habitat Types Are Being Created?
Some local approaches include adjustments for habitat complexity.
For example, Stroud District Council currently applies an additional 5% where more than seven habitat types are created.
5. What Does the HMMP and Securing Mechanism Require?
The HMMP should set out the long-term habitat objectives, management actions, monitoring approach and reporting programme.
Also check the relevant planning condition, Section 106 agreement, conservation covenant or other securing mechanism for responsibilities, monitoring requirements, access and payment provisions.
6. Which Fee Year, Indexation and Additional Charges Apply?
Check the effective date, financial year, indexation provisions and payment timing.
A published headline monitoring fee may also sit alongside separate ecology officer time, site-visit costs, legal fees, registration charges or project-specific costs.
How Do Published LPA Monitoring-Fee Methods Compare?
The examples below show why a single national monitoring-fee formula would be misleading.
| Local Authority | Published Approach | Current Published Basis | Important Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Yorkshire Council | Area + technical difficulty BNG habitat area × technical difficulty | 2026/27 | Uses the area of significant on-site or off-site BNG habitat being monitored |
| Stroud District Council | Area + technical difficulty Size band × technical difficulty | From 1 April 2026 | Adds 5% where more than seven habitat types are created |
| East Hampshire District Council | Area-based Development site-area bands | From 1 April 2026 | Uses site-area bands and also publishes separate ecology advice/monitoring charges |
| Ashford Borough Council | Report-based Charge per monitoring report, with separate site-visit charge | Published monetary table currently labelled 2025/26 | Demonstrates a report-based approach and published example monitoring schedules |
North Yorkshire Council
North Yorkshire currently publishes a fee matrix using the area of BNG habitat being monitored and the highest technical difficulty associated with the habitat proposals.
For areas above 40 ha, the current council page states that the fee is calculated pro rata by area. For these projects, confirm the current council method before setting a project allowance.
Stroud District Council
For illustration, the ACP comparator applies the entered BNG habitat area to Stroud's published size band. For a live Stroud project, confirm the applicable area basis against the current council requirements.
Stroud also uses size and technical difficulty, but its fee values differ from North Yorkshire's.
It currently adds 5% where more than seven habitat types are created, demonstrating why superficially similar charging models should not be treated as interchangeable.
East Hampshire District Council
East Hampshire uses development site-area bands rather than the same technical-difficulty matrix.
The calculator therefore uses the separate Total development site area input for this comparator.
Ashford Borough Council
Ashford illustrates another possible approach by linking monitoring charges to monitoring reports and site visits and publishing example reporting schedules.
Its monetary table is currently labelled 2025/26, so it illustrates the method and schedule structure rather than a current 2026/27 monetary comparator.
BNG Monitoring Fee Calculator: Worked Example
Consider an illustrative development with:
BNG habitat area being monitored: 3.0 ha
Total development site area: 4.0 ha
Highest habitat technical difficulty: Moderate
Number of habitat types being created: Seven or fewer
North Yorkshire Council Example
For 3.0 ha of monitored BNG habitat, the project falls within the council's 0–5 ha band.
At Moderate technical difficulty, the current 2026/27 published fee is:
£3,560
Stroud District Council Example
The project also falls within Stroud's 0–5 ha published size band.
At Moderate technical difficulty, the current published fee from 1 April 2026 is:
£4,245
Because this example has no more than seven habitat types, the additional 5% adjustment is not applied.
East Hampshire District Council Example
East Hampshire's comparator uses the total development site area.
At 4.0 ha, this example falls within its current 0–5 ha site-area band.
The published monitoring fee from 1 April 2026 is:
£10,986
What Does the Example Show?
The different results reflect the authorities’ different published methods.
What If My LPA Does Not Publish a Monitoring-Fee Calculator?
A published comparator can provide context for early budgeting, but it does not create a fee for another authority.
Where no clear fee schedule is available, it may be necessary to:
- review the authority's BNG and Section 106 guidance;
- check adopted fee schedules;
- review the planning condition or draft legal agreement;
- confirm the intended monitoring arrangements;
- identify whether the charge is calculated on a project-specific basis; and
- seek clarification from the authority where necessary.
ACP can assist with the ecological and BNG aspects of that review.
Need the monitoring assumptions checked?
ACP can review the habitat proposals, HMMP and host authority’s published requirements. We can help establish the ecological monitoring scope and identify council-fee information that needs confirmation.
How Monitoring Fees Fit into the Wider BNG Process
Your Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan defines how secured habitats will be managed and monitored. The Biodiversity Gain Plan describes how the development meets its BNG objective.
For evidence, reporting and adaptive management, read our BNG monitoring and reporting framework. If you are earlier in planning, follow our BNG process guide.
BNG Monitoring Fee Calculator FAQs
Is there a national BNG monitoring fee?
No.
There is no single national BNG monitoring-fee schedule that applies to every local planning authority.
Different authorities can use different methods, including habitat-area bands, technical-difficulty categories, report-based charging, officer rates or project-specific calculations.
Always check the current requirements of the authority responsible for the development.
Is the LPA monitoring fee the same as my ecologist’s monitoring cost?
No. The LPA charge relates to the authority’s administration and monitoring of an obligation where applicable. The ecologist’s cost relates to survey visits, habitat assessment, analysis and reporting.
Land management, remedial works, legal charges and any applicable indexation or VAT are separate.
Does BNG monitoring always last for 30 years?
Relevant significant on-site and off-site habitat gains secured for statutory BNG are generally required to be maintained for at least 30 years.
However, that does not mean the site must be surveyed or reported on every year.
The project-specific monitoring schedule should be set through the HMMP and relevant planning or legal mechanism.
Do I need to submit a monitoring report every year?
Not necessarily.
There is no single national requirement for every BNG project to submit an annual monitoring report throughout the 30-year period.
The appropriate frequency depends on the habitats, delivery risks, approved HMMP and requirements agreed with the relevant authority or responsible body.
What habitat area should I enter into the BNG monitoring fee calculator?
For an authority method based on monitored BNG habitat area, enter the area of habitat being secured and monitored.
Do not automatically enter the whole red-line development area.
Where a comparator uses the overall development site area instead, use the separate site-area field.
What if I do not know the habitat technical difficulty?
Choose Not sure. The comparison shows the relevant published low-to-high values instead of choosing a technical category for you. Stroud’s separate habitat-type uplift is also considered where the count is uncertain.
What happens if my project is larger than the published fee bands?
Follow the relevant authority’s current published instructions.
Some authorities may provide a pro-rata approach. Others may require a project-specific calculation.
The calculator should stop where the published method stops rather than invent an unsupported figure.
Can I use another council’s monitoring fee if my LPA does not publish one?
Another authority’s published schedule may provide useful context for early budgeting.
However, it does not automatically become the fee payable for a project elsewhere.
The relevant monitoring charge should be confirmed through the applicable planning and legal process.
Official Guidance and Useful Sources
The following sources support the BNG monitoring fee calculator. They explain BNG management, monitoring, legal agreements and the published authority approaches.
GOV.UK — Planning Obligations
National planning guidance explains how planning obligations can be monitored and when monitoring fees may be charged.
It states that monitoring fees should be proportionate and reasonable and should reflect the actual cost of monitoring.
GOV.UK — Enter a Legal Agreement for Biodiversity Net Gain
This guidance explains how significant on-site and off-site BNG gains can be secured and the responsibilities associated with long-term habitat management and monitoring.
It also covers monitoring schedules, access arrangements, funding and payment arrangements, remedial action and the minimum 30-year period that applies to relevant secured habitat gains.
GOV.UK — Creating a Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan for BNG
This guidance explains what an HMMP should contain and how it supports long-term habitat creation, enhancement, management and monitoring.
Natural England — Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan Template
Natural England provides the HMMP template, checklist, companion documents and monitoring-report templates.
The resources help structure habitat management and monitoring information. Natural England describes the templates as guidance and advises users to discuss any additional requirements with the relevant local planning authority.
North Yorkshire Council — BNG Monitoring Fees
North Yorkshire Council publishes a 2026/27 monitoring-fee table based on the area of BNG habitat being monitored and habitat technical difficulty.
Stroud District Council — BNG Monitoring Fees
Stroud District Council publishes a monitoring-fee matrix that applies from 1 April 2026.
Its current method uses size bands and technical difficulty and includes an additional 5% where more than seven habitat types are created.
East Hampshire District Council — BNG Monitoring Fees
East Hampshire District Council publishes BNG monitoring fees using development site-area bands.
Its current schedule applies from 1 April 2026. The council also publishes separate ecology monitoring and BNG advice charges.
Ashford Borough Council — BNG Process and Monitoring
Ashford Borough Council provides a useful example of a different monitoring-fee structure based on monitoring reports and site visits.
It also publishes example monitoring schedules for small and major schemes.
The monetary table currently shown on the council’s page is labelled 2025/26. Therefore, ACP uses this source to illustrate the monitoring approach and example schedules rather than as a current 2026/27 fee comparator.
Need help with BNG monitoring costs?
Tell us where the development is, which local authority is involved and whether you have a Statutory Biodiversity Metric, Biodiversity Gain Plan or HMMP. If you used the calculators, include the areas, monitoring years and budget assumptions.
We can review the ecological monitoring scope and identify council-fee information that needs confirmation.
Speak to our ecology team
Get project-specific advice on BNG monitoring and reporting.
Share your site location, habitat proposals and available BNG documents using the form.
We handle your enquiry details in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You can email supporting plans to hello@acp-consultants.com.
Important Information and Disclaimer
The information, calculators, comparison tables, timelines and worked examples on this page are provided for general information, illustration and early-stage budgeting purposes only.
They do not constitute:
- a quotation or fee proposal from ACP Consultants;
- confirmation of the monitoring fee payable for a particular development;
- a statutory or local-authority fee determination;
- confirmation that a particular monitoring schedule applies to a project;
- project-specific ecological, planning, financial or legal advice; or
- a substitute for approved project documents and the requirements of the relevant authority or responsible body.
Published LPA Fees
The LPA Monitoring Fee Calculator uses selected published local-authority charging approaches to illustrate how monitoring fees can differ.
A figure produced using one authority’s methodology should not be applied automatically to a development located within another authority area.
Published fees, charging structures, indexation arrangements and supporting guidance may change after this page has been reviewed.
Always check the current host-authority requirements before relying on a calculated figure.
Monitoring Programme Budget Planner
The Monitoring Programme Budget Planner uses cost assumptions entered by the user.
Its output is an illustrative current-price scenario only.
It is not an ACP Consultants quotation and does not confirm the surveys, monitoring frequency, reporting requirements or professional fees that will apply to a particular development.
Monitoring Schedules
The monitoring years shown within this page are illustrative examples.
There is no single national monitoring-report timetable that automatically applies to every BNG development.
The project-specific schedule should be established through the approved HMMP and relevant planning or legal mechanism.
Professional Advice
Before making planning, financial, contractual or land-management decisions based on BNG monitoring requirements or costs, obtain appropriate project-specific advice.
For professional ecological and Biodiversity Net Gain advice, contact ACP Consultants.
Where interpretation of a planning obligation, conservation covenant, contractual liability, land agreement or other legal document is required, advice should also be obtained from an appropriately qualified legal professional.
Current Information
ACP takes reasonable steps to review the technical information presented on this page. However, government guidance, local policy, authority charging schedules and project requirements can change.
Users should therefore verify current published requirements and obtain project-specific advice before relying on the information for a live development.
Disclaimer date: October 2026