Land Agent in Cambridge: Understanding Biodiversity Net Gain

Cambridge is one of the UK’s most active and complex land markets. With development pressure, valuable agricultural land and increasing environmental regulation, landowners are required to make informed decisions about how their land is managed, developed, or sold. Access to clear, professional advice from a land agent in Cambridge is essential for protecting long-term value and navigating change with confidence.

While estate agents often focus on residential property and the buying and selling of homes, a land agent provides specialist advice on rural land, estates, and strategic land use. In Cambridge, this increasingly includes planning strategy, environmental schemes and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).

A land agent’s role is centred on providing clear, practical advice that helps landowners make confident decisions about their land.

• Acting in the landowner’s best interests, with guidance tailored to each site and the objectives
• Helping clients understand their options and supporting them through each step of the process, from early discussions to delivery
• Advising alongside estate agents where land or commercial property is brought to the open market, particularly for development land, rural plots, or land linked to residential use
• Coordinating professional input by liaising with planners, ecologists and legal advisers to ensure advice is joined up
• Providing start-to-finish support that reduces uncertainty and keeps decisions clear and well managed

By combining local insight with professional coordination, a land agent helps ensure the process feels straightforward and well supported from beginning to end.

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) has become a key consideration for landowners and developers across Cambridge. Introduced under the Environment Act 2021, BNG requires most major developments to deliver at least a 10% improvement in biodiversity compared with the site’s condition prior to development.

In many developments around Cambridge, delivering this uplift onsite can be difficult due to space constraints and existing land use. Where onsite delivery is not possible, developers must secure off-site biodiversity units. This has created new opportunities for landowners in surrounding rural areas, where land can be enhanced for wildlife alongside long-term management.

With the right approach, BNG can provide a stable, long-term income while delivering genuine environmental benefits. Understanding whether land is suitable, however, requires specialist advice.

A habitat bank is land that is managed specifically to create or enhance biodiversity over a minimum period of 30 years. The biodiversity improvement is measured using DEFRA’s Biodiversity Metric and expressed as biodiversity units.

These units can then be sold to developers who need to offset environmental impacts elsewhere. Habitat banks are increasingly being established around Cambridge, where development demand is high and off-site BNG solutions are often required as part of the planning process.

BNG involves ecology, planning and long-term land management, which is why specialist land agent support is so important. A land agent in Cambridge helps landowners and developers understand how BNG applies to their site and how it can be delivered in a practical and commercially sensible way.

At Collington Winter Environmental, our land provides dedicated BNG support, working closely with ecologists, planners and developers throughout the process. Our services include:

• Site Identification and feasibility – Assessment of the and around Cambridge for its potential to deliver meaningful biodiversity uplift
• BNG agreement negotiation – Structuring and negotiating agreements between landowners and developers, including long-term habitat management and offset arrangements
• Biodiversity unit valuation – Advising on the potential financial return from biodiversity units, taking account of local demand and ongoing management requirements
• Planning and policy advice – Ensuring habitat creation schemes align with DEFRA’s metrics, Natural England Guidance and local planning policies

By combining ecological expertise with land agency knowledge, our land agents help ensure BNG projects are well planned, compliant and deliver long-term value. This approach allows landowners to explore environmental opportunities with confidence, without losing sight of the commercial realities of land ownership.

Collington Winter Environmental provides ecology-led land agency services across Cambridge and the surrounding region. Our experienced team works with landowners and developers to assess land, prepare Biodiversity Net Gain strategies and guide projects from initial feasibility through to delivery and long-term management.

We pride ourselves on clear communication, practical advice and a strong understanding of environmental policy alongside the local land market. Whether you are reviewing developmental potential, managing land use change or exploring BNG opportunities for the first time, we are here to support you at every stage.

To speak to a land agent in Cambridge, contact us at info@collingtonwinter.co.uk, complete the contact form below, or call 01204 939608.