Planning a development in Surrey? ProHort provides Biodiversity Net Gain assessments, habitat surveys, statutory metric calculations and Biodiversity Gain Plan support for developers, architects, planning consultants and landowners. We help establish your site’s biodiversity value and identify the ecological information needed to support your development and planning requirements.
From the heathlands of the Thames Basin and chalk landscapes of the North Downs to Surrey’s ancient woodlands, river valleys and urban redevelopment sites, our approach considers the habitats and characteristics of your individual project.
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Surrey’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), published in 2026, identifies local biodiversity priorities and opportunities to improve habitat networks across the county.
Its priorities include woodland and parklands, wetlands and rivers, grassland, scrub and heathland, as well as opportunities to improve habitat connectivity.
The strategy also includes a local habitat map identifying areas of particular importance for biodiversity and locations where nature recovery actions could be beneficial.
For development projects, this provides useful context when considering habitat retention, creation and enhancement. It can help inform decisions about the type and location of biodiversity improvements, particularly where proposals could contribute to wider ecological connections.
However, the LNRS does not replace a site-specific BNG assessment or automatically determine the statutory requirements for an individual development. The applicable biodiversity metric, planning circumstances and actual habitats present must still be considered.
We support projects across:
Guildford, Woking, Reigate, Redhill, Epsom, Ewell, Farnham, Godalming, Dorking, Camberley, Horley and all surrounding villages.
A Biodiversity Net Gain assessment establishes the biodiversity value of a site before development and calculates how the proposed works are expected to affect its habitats.
For developments within the statutory BNG framework, this provides the evidence needed to understand the site’s existing habitat baseline and identify how the required biodiversity gain could be achieved.
ProHort can support your project with the ecological assessment, calculations and reporting needed to inform its BNG requirements.
Our Biodiversity Net Gain assessment services in Surrey can include:
Habitat surveys and mapping: Identifying and mapping habitats within the relevant site boundary using an appropriate habitat classification method.
Habitat condition assessments: Evaluating habitat quality against the relevant condition criteria.
Statutory BNG metric calculations: Calculating the biodiversity value of existing habitats and modelling proposed habitat losses, retention, creation and enhancement.
Biodiversity Net Gain reporting: Presenting baseline findings, metric results and relevant recommendations in a clear report.
Habitat enhancement advice: Identifying opportunities to retain valuable features, improve existing habitats and create new habitats as part of the development.
A site-specific assessment is particularly important in Surrey, where development sites can contain a mixture of woodland, heathland, grassland, hedgerows and wetland habitats. Their biodiversity value cannot reliably be determined from appearance or previous land use alone.
Identifying these features early can help developers make informed decisions about site layout, habitat retention and the most appropriate approach to achieving biodiversity gain.
A Biodiversity Gain Plan is a separate statutory planning document from the initial BNG assessment. Where the statutory biodiversity gain condition applies, the plan must be approved by the relevant Local Planning Authority before development begins.
While a BNG assessment establishes the site’s habitat baseline and calculates biodiversity value, the Biodiversity Gain Plan explains how the development will meet its biodiversity gain objective.
ProHort provides Biodiversity Gain Plan services in Surrey, helping developers and project teams prepare the information needed to demonstrate how the required biodiversity improvements will be delivered and secured.
Depending on the development, this can include:
Pre-development biodiversity value: Setting out the relevant habitat baseline and the metric calculation used to establish the site’s biodiversity value.
Habitat retention and enhancement: Explaining which existing habitats will be retained, enhanced or affected by the development.
Habitat creation proposals: Detailing the new habitats proposed and their expected biodiversity contribution.
Off-site biodiversity gains: Including details of eligible registered off-site gains where these are being used to address a biodiversity unit shortfall.
Habitat management arrangements: Including relevant management and monitoring information where required.
Biodiversity Gain Plan documentation: Bringing the relevant ecological and metric information together for submission to the planning authority.
The information required will depend on the development, its planning permission and the proposed approach to delivering biodiversity improvements.
Planning permission does not necessarily mean that development can begin immediately. Where the statutory biodiversity gain condition applies, the Biodiversity Gain Plan must be submitted and approved before development starts.
This is an important part of Surrey BNG condition discharge. The relevant planning authority will consider whether the plan demonstrates how the development will achieve the biodiversity gain objective, taking account of the applicable statutory requirements and supporting information.
Preparing the plan alongside the approved development proposals can help identify missing details and ensure that the proposed habitat delivery arrangements are properly explained.
ProHort can support developers and planning consultants with their Biodiversity Gain Plan for development in Surrey, helping bring the relevant ecological and planning information together.
Surrey has a distinctive ecological character, with internationally important heathlands, ancient woodland, chalk grassland, historic parklands and interconnected river systems. These habitats create different considerations for development and biodiversity enhancement across the county.
The Thames Basin Heaths include extensive areas of lowland heathland, a habitat of particular importance for wildlife. Areas around Surrey Heath, Woking and Guildford form part of this wider heathland landscape.
Where development is near heathland, existing habitat features and the potential for ecological effects need to be considered carefully. Sites may contain heathland fragments, acid grassland, scrub or woodland, all of which need appropriate assessment where relevant.
The North Downs are characterised by chalk landscapes, including areas of species-rich grassland, woodland and hedgerows. These habitats can support distinctive plant and invertebrate communities.
For developments around Guildford, Dorking and the wider North Downs, understanding the existing habitat type and condition is important when calculating biodiversity value and considering suitable enhancement proposals.
Surrey contains extensive woodland networks and historic parkland landscapes, including areas around Mole Valley, Guildford and Waverley.
Ancient woodland and other established tree habitats can have particular ecological importance. Their presence should be identified early, as habitat impacts, retention and enhancement opportunities may influence development design and the wider ecological assessment.
The River Wey, River Mole and River Thames, together with their tributaries and associated wetlands, contribute to Surrey’s wider ecological network.
These environments can support riparian vegetation, wet grassland, ponds, wet woodland and other water-associated habitats. Where these features occur within or around a development site, their condition and ecological connections may be relevant to the assessment and proposed habitat improvements.
Surrey’s towns and built-up areas also contain important habitat features. Residential redevelopment, commercial sites and previously developed land can support trees, scrub, grassland, ponds and other established vegetation.
A brownfield site should not automatically be assumed to have negligible biodiversity value. A site-specific assessment is needed to establish which habitats are present and how they contribute to the baseline calculation.
Whether you need a Biodiversity Net Gain assessment, habitat baseline survey, statutory metric calculation or support with a Biodiversity Gain Plan, ProHort can help you understand the ecological requirements of your development.
If you are looking for Biodiversity Gain Plan consultants in Surrey or need support with your BNG planning requirements, contact our team to discuss your site and the next steps.
Surrey’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy identifies local priorities for nature recovery, including woodland, parklands, heathland, grassland, wetlands and river habitats.
It can provide useful context when considering where habitat creation or enhancement could contribute to wider ecological networks. However, the strategy does not replace the statutory biodiversity metric or determine the requirements of an individual planning application. BNG proposals must still be based on the site’s habitat baseline and applicable planning requirements.
Development near the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA) may need to consider additional ecological and planning requirements relating to the protected heathland and its bird populations.
Depending on the location and nature of the proposal, this may involve separate assessment or mitigation under the Habitats Regulations, including consideration of recreational pressure and suitable alternative natural greenspace where relevant.
These requirements are distinct from Biodiversity Net Gain. A BNG assessment calculates habitat value and proposed biodiversity improvements, while SPA-related measures address potential effects on the protected site. Both may need to be considered for the same development.
Green Belt designation does not, by itself, exempt a development from statutory Biodiversity Net Gain requirements.
Whether BNG applies depends on the development type, planning circumstances and any relevant statutory exemptions or transitional provisions. Where the statutory biodiversity gain condition applies, the development will need to meet the applicable biodiversity gain requirements regardless of its Green Belt designation.
Ancient woodland and mature trees can be important ecological features and should be identified at an early stage of project planning.
Their habitat type, condition, extent and relationship with the development need to be considered when establishing the baseline and assessing potential impacts. Ancient woodland is an irreplaceable habitat, so its treatment under the statutory BNG framework differs from ordinary habitat units and may require bespoke compensation measures where impacts are proposed.
Avoidance and appropriate protection should therefore be considered as part of the wider development design, rather than relying on biodiversity unit calculations alone.
Some smaller developments may qualify for statutory exemptions, but the site area alone does not determine whether BNG applies.
For planning applications made on or after 6 August 2026, development on a site no larger than 0.2 hectares may qualify for the small-site exemption where it does not impact onsite priority habitat. Other exemptions, including the de minimis exemption, may also be relevant depending on the proposal.
The specific development, application date, habitat impacts and statutory criteria should be checked before assuming that an exemption applies.
Yes. Where the applicable biodiversity gain hierarchy and statutory rules allow, eligible registered off-site biodiversity gains can contribute towards a development’s biodiversity gain objective.
The suitability of an off-site gain depends on factors including its registration, habitat type, location and the applicable spatial risk requirements. The availability of off-site units should be considered alongside opportunities for habitat retention, enhancement and creation within the development.
Statutory biodiversity credits are a separate mechanism and should only be considered where the applicable requirements for their use are met.
