Commercial Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) are a legal requirement to have in place when you sell or lease a non domestic property anywhere in the UK.
Since the introduction of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) legislation in April 2018 properties with an EPC rating of F or G cannot be let out until work has been carried out to improve the rating to at least an E. This has led to many banks and financial institutions now refusing to carry out sale transactions on F and G rated properties.
As well as providing Commercial EPCs, we can also provide tailored advice on the most cost effective and least disruptive ways to improve your rating to your desired rating with our MEES Consultation service.
Easy EPC have a highly skilled team of NDEA assessors, covering all of the UK. All our assessors are fully accredited and insured. Our assessors on the road are supported by our technical team, which ensures we are able to produce your Commercial EPCs quickly and accurately, working to the very highest standard.
After the site visit it takes about 4 working days to produce your EPC. Once complete you will receive 2 documents, the EPC itself, which is valid for 10 years, and a recommendation report which gives advice on how to improve the rating of your property.
The advice on the recommendation report is produced automatically by the software, and the assessor then removes recommendations that are not suitable for your property, and may add other recommendations that they judge to be more appropriate. The advice on the recommendation report is fairly generic.
If you need more detailed advice specifically tailored to your property then we can also provide this as a separate product with our Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) consultation service.
The concept of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is a transformative approach to development and conservation, ensuring that post-construction environments exhibit greater biodiversity than before. This principle has been made compulsory for all new developments across England, including those deemed nationally significant infrastructure projects. Beginning in February 2024, the legislation stipulates that these projects are required to deliver at least a 10% improvement in terms of biodiversity value. Developers can achieve this net gain by enhancing on-site natural features or supporting off-site ecological improvements—or alternatively by securing statutory biodiversity credits that represent quantified increases in nature’s richness.
Established through the Environment Act passed in November 2021, BNG aims for long-lasting positive impacts on ecosystems from every development project undertaken. As part of its guidelines, developers must ensure any habitat enhancements last no fewer than three decades—a provision put forth to guarantee enduring advantages for wildlife and plant life alike.
Going beyond mere compliance with legal requirements, achieving BNG presents an avenue for constructive engagement with environmental stewardship among developers. Pursuing strategies aligned with BNG principles empowers them not only to mitigate but also reverse declines in native species and habitats while fostering sustainable growth within their sectors—marking a commitment toward bolstering our planet’s biological diversity through conscious building efforts.
Biodiversity net gain assessments form the core of the BNG system, designed to enhance biodiversity value after development takes place. The purpose is to measure and compare a site’s ecological worth before any changes occur and following completion of the project. Such assessments use an established statutory biodiversity metric that provides uniformity and precision in measurement. To establish improvement benchmarks, these evaluations focus on capturing pre-development biodiversity values, which stay unaltered throughout the duration permitted for planning.
The standardized method applied across England to appraise relative biodiversity value during development projects comes from DEFRA’s statutory biodiversity metric. It serves as a benchmarking tool facilitating comparisons between different developments by quantifying their effects on local ecosystems consistently. This mechanism ensures developers are aware of how their projects impact ecological balance while mandating compensatory enhancements or exceeding them where losses occur.
Completing a B&D assessment necessitates meticulous recording of existing environmental elements and living habitats at risk within developmental areas—identifying all relevant species along with significant ecosystems present beforehand. Gathering such comprehensive data is crucial when devising an effective plan aimed at securing not just compensation but actual advances in post-development biodiversity through clearly laid out strategies demonstrating attainable net gains over time.
Get my free quote nowStrategies for enhancing habitats are critical to securing a net gain in biodiversity. These strategies strive to both establish new habitats and elevate the condition of existing ones, thereby bolstering species diversity and the functions they provide within ecosystems. Should prior measures fall short of attaining the targeted biodiversity net gain, it becomes imperative to forge new habitats at the project site itself. To this end, initiatives might encompass sowing indigenous plant species, rehabilitating deteriorated environments, or constructing passages that facilitate wildlife movement.
At a local level, Nature Recovery Strategies play an instrumental part in guiding how and where these gains in biodiversity should be achieved – pinpointing specific locations along with suitable types of habitat development involved. This ensures that any enhancement efforts undertaken align strategically with ecological needs for maximum impact.
By deploying robust strategies aimed at fostering habitat improvements effectively, developers not only significantly boost on-site biological diversity but also contribute positively towards overarching objectives focused on conservational outcomes.
To get a quote for a BNG assessment complete the form above, alternatively send us an email to admin@gradwellgroup.co.uk
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A critical aspect of sustainable development is the Biodiversity Gain Plan, which outlines mandatory steps that developers must take to ensure they meet biodiversity net gain requirements. The plan should comprehensively specify how a minimum of 10% increase in biodiversity value will be realized through various enhancement and mitigation efforts. It needs to include detailed data encompassing existing biodiversity metrics as well as comparisons between pre-development and post-development scenarios.
The two principal elements within the Biodiversity Gain Plan are strategies for habitat improvement and measures for mitigating harm. Enhancement strategies concentrate on constructing and enriching habitats, aiming to bolster species diversity along with ecosystem services. Mitigation tactics strive to minimize detrimental effects on these environments while compensating for any inevitable damage caused by development activities so that overall net gains in post-development biodiversity are guaranteed.
Strategies for enhancing habitats are critical to securing a net gain in biodiversity. These strategies strive to both establish new habitats and elevate the condition of existing ones, thereby bolstering species diversity and the functions they provide within ecosystems. Should prior measures fall short of attaining the targeted biodiversity net gain, it becomes imperative to forge new habitats at the project site itself. To this end, initiatives might encompass sowing indigenous plant species, rehabilitating deteriorated environments, or constructing passages that facilitate wildlife movement.
At a local level, Nature Recovery Strategies play an instrumental part in guiding how and where these gains in biodiversity should be achieved – pinpointing specific locations along with suitable types of habitat development involved. This ensures that any enhancement efforts undertaken align strategically with ecological needs for maximum impact.
By deploying robust strategies aimed at fostering habitat improvements effectively, developers not only significantly boost on-site biological diversity but also contribute positively towards overarching objectives focused on conservational outcomes.
A critical aspect of sustainable development is the Biodiversity Gain Plan, which outlines mandatory steps that developers must take to ensure they meet biodiversity net gain requirements. The plan should comprehensively specify how a minimum of 10% increase in biodiversity value will be realized through various enhancement and mitigation efforts. It needs to include detailed data encompassing existing biodiversity metrics as well as comparisons between pre-development and post-development scenarios.
The two principal elements within the Biodiversity Gain Plan are strategies for habitat improvement and measures for mitigating harm. Enhancement strategies concentrate on constructing and enriching habitats, aiming to bolster species diversity along with ecosystem services. Mitigation tactics strive to minimize detrimental effects on these environments while compensating for any inevitable damage caused by development activities so that overall net gains in post-development biodiversity are guaranteed.
The planning process now necessitates adherence to mandatory biodiversity net gain stipulations, as enforced by the Environment Act. It is a requirement that all development projects bring about at least a 10% enhancement in terms of biodiversity value, with this improvement being quantified using the Biodiversity Metric. As a result, developments are expected not only to avoid damage but also to actively enhance local ecosystems. Local plans must clearly depict how they will achieve these gains through various development initiatives.
It falls upon local planning authorities to review and confirm the accuracy of developers’ submissions concerning their calculations according to the Biodiversity Metric, ensuring compliance with established standards. A prerequisite for initiating any form of development includes obtaining approval for a Biodiversity Gain Plan from the relevant local planning authority under an imposed biodiversity gain condition—a plan which has robust evidence supporting anticipated net gains essential for granting permission for construction activities.
When recent changes within habitats have been minimal or non-existent, developers may incorporate data from past surveys into current assessments. This provision allows them to use historical yet reliable habitat information in fulfilling requirements where applicable. There exists an obligation spanning no less than 30 years regarding maintenance enhancements tied directly to on-site habitats as part of ongoing planning obligations—this extended timeframe ensures that achieved biodiverse benefits persist well into future decades.
Get my free quote nowAchieving biodiversity net gain necessitates the accurate calculation of biodiversity units. For development projects to satisfy prescribed criteria, they must engage the statutory biodiversity metric when evaluating these units. This assessment hinges on various aspects such as type, size, distinctiveness, condition, and strategic location of habitats, which are essential in precisely determining the number of biodiversity units and confirming that there is a net gain.
During major developments’ planning process stages, it’s mandatory for them to integrate this standardized biodiversity metric into their assessments. The application ensures uniformity and precision across diverse initiatives concerning evaluations related to natural diversity. Accurate delineation and measurement of habitat areas using this metric tool are pivotal for accurately representing their value for biological diversity. Optimizing design processes through continuous use with an aim towards enhancing overall gains in biological diversity becomes crucial for developers.
In cases involving irreplaceable habitats—considered typically beyond compensation due to their unique characteristics—it’s acknowledged that they do not add toward measurable increases in ecological richness unless accompanied by particular enhancement measures aimed at augmenting them directly or indirectly while ensuring conservation efforts persist unharmed by developmental impacts. Therein lies a key principle behind preserving ecosystems’ core values among development undertakings according to targeted standards set out by regulations governing how environments benefit from proposed activities via documented evidence showcasing compliance alongside beneficial contributions geared towards sustaining nature’s variety.
When on-site habitat improvements do not suffice to fulfill net gain objectives, off-site biodiversity gains become essential. These can be acquired by entering into either conservation covenants or Section 106 agreements with the understanding that both cannot be used simultaneously. Developers have the option to acquire off-site biodiversity units from landowners who undertake enhancements on their property or purchase credits from state-sanctioned habitat banks, offering a solution for developers to satisfy biodiversity net gain requirements when they are unable to achieve them onsite.
To encourage developers first and foremost towards improving habitats at development sites themselves, biodiversity credits carry costs above typical market values - elevating on-site advancements as primary over alternate offsite solutions in terms of consideration.
Local planning authorities bear the responsibility for monitoring whether offsite gains are properly recorded and attributed. These intrinsic achievements must endure a minimum period of thirty years upkeep. Through securing such external contributions towards ecological improvement, constructors can reach mandated benchmarks for net gain while also aiding wider preservation initiatives.
The Biodiversity Gain Hierarchy offers a structured approach for attaining biodiversity net gain, emphasizing the execution of the most efficacious measures first. The hierarchy provides an ordered strategy to enhance positive outcomes for biodiversity where foremost actions are directed at completely sidestepping impacts on biodiversity. In scenarios where avoidance is unfeasible, it progresses through minimizing negative effects, restoring affected habitats, and compensating any remaining detrimental impacts.
Biodiversity Gain Plans must reflect developers’ compliance with this prioritized framework by showcasing strategies employed to circumvent, reduce and rectify harm to biodiversity before resorting to compensation options. Regulatory bodies responsible for planning must take into account how well these plans adhere to the hierarchical structure when evaluating them.
Adhering strictly to the steps laid out in the Biodiversity Gain Hierarchy enables projects not only meet obligatory requirements but also contribute beneficially towards achieving a net increase in biodiversity. This methodical process underscores initiatives that yield maximum advantages for biodiverse ecosystems while managing potential repercussions in an efficient manner.
Engaging with local planning authorities early on can make navigating the complexities of biodiversity net gain in the planning process more straightforward. This proactive approach ensures that considerations for biodiversity net gain are woven into the project from its inception.
The National Planning Policy Framework endorses initiatives aiming to achieve a quantifiable increase in biodiversity value, setting forth guidelines for both developers and local planning authorities to integrate these gains within various stages of development. A key stipulation is fulfilling a minimum 10% enhancement in biodiversity value as part of securing permission for projects.
Subsequent to obtaining approval for plans, it’s imperative that an endorsed Biodiversity Gain Plan be presented before any construction commences. Local authorities may necessitate supplemental details concerning how developments will meet requirements related to net gains in biodiversity when reviewing applications. Developers who proceed without sanctioned Biodiversity Gain Plans risk enforcement measures being taken against them. Successfully managing this aspect of the development process not only aligns with regulations, but also contributes beneficially towards preservation efforts.
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FAQ Section
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is an approach to development that requires at least a 10% improvement in biodiversity value. This strategy ensures that ecosystems are improved through measures either implemented directly on the site or in nearby locations. The focus of this strategy is to underscore the significance of advancing ecological well-being concurrently with developmental projects.
The pre-development biodiversity value is determined using a statutory biodiversity metric tool that evaluates habitat type, size, distinctiveness, condition, and location. This assessment provides a quantitative measure of a site’s biodiversity value prior to any development.
Sustained efforts over a minimum duration of thirty years are essential for habitat management aimed at achieving biodiversity net gain (BNG), encompassing continuous monitoring and upkeep to guarantee the endurance of enhancements in biodiversity. Ensuring that ecosystem improvements remain effective and significant is crucial, and this necessitates a steadfast approach towards maintaining the benefits gained through BNG.
Yes, off-site biodiversity units can be utilized to satisfy BNG requirements when on-site habitat enhancements do not achieve net gain targets, through mechanisms such as conservation covenants, Section 106 agreements, or purchasing credits from approved habitat banks.
The hierarchy of biodiversity gain is essential in BNG as it offers a systematic method for boosting biodiversity. It prioritizes actions that first prevent impacts, then those that minimize them, followed by restoration and ultimately compensation if needed. By setting these priorities, the hierarchy guarantees that conservation efforts are carried out with maximum effectiveness.
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