Land Agent in Shropshire: Understanding Biodiversity Net Gain

Shropshire’s varied landscape, from productive farmland and private estates to environmentally sensitive countryside, means landowners and developers face a wide range of opportunities and constraints. Alongside this, planning policy and environmental requirements continue to evolve, making informed land decisions more important than ever.

Working with a knowledgeable land agent in Shropshire helps bring clarity to this process. A modern land agent provides far more than traditional transactional advice. Today, land agency covers strategic land management, environmental guidance and long-term planning, helping clients make decisions that are both commercially sound and environmentally responsible.

At Collington Winter Environmental, we offer a range of services that reflect this shift. Our work is rooted in ecology-led land advice, supporting landowners and developers as they navigate Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), planning considerations and future land use.

The role of a land agent is always centred on acting in the client’s best interests, but the support provided can vary depending on the site and objectives. In Shropshire, this typically includes:

• Advising on land value, development potential and long-term strategy
• Supporting the buying and selling of land, often alongside estate agents where land is brought to the open market
• Assessing opportunities and constraints linked to planning policy and environmental designations
• Coordinating professional input from planners, ecologists, solicitors, and chartered surveyors
• Providing clear, start-to-finish guidance that reduced ecological risk and uncertainty

This joined up approach ensures landowners and developers receive clear advice across a wide range of considerations, rather than fragmented input from multiple sources.

Biodiversity Net Gain is now a central consideration for many development projects. Introduced under the Environment Act 2021, BNG requires most major developments to deliver at least a 10% improvement in biodiversity compared with pre-development conditions.

Where this cannot be achieved onsite, developers must secure offsite biodiversity units. This has created new opportunities for landowners in Shropshire, particularly those with underused land that could be enhanced for wildlife. While demand varies by location, interest in offsite BNG continues to grow as planning authorities apply the policy more consistently.

A habitat bank is land that is managed to create or enhance biodiversity over a minimum 30-year-period. Using DEFRA’s Biodiversity Metric, the biodiversity uplift is measured and converted into units that can be sold to developers who need to meet BNG obligations.

In Shropshire, habitat banks may involve grassland enhancement, which is why land agent support is so important. A land agent in Shropshire can help by identifying suitable land, assessing biodiversity potential and advising on habitat banking, which can form part of a long-term land strategy, offering environmental benefits alongside potential financial returns.

Delivering BNG involves ecology, planning and long-term management, which is why land agent support is so important. A land agent in Shropshire can help by identifying suitable land, assessing biodiversity potential and advising on habitat bank feasibility.

By coordinating ecologists, planners and legal advisers, land agents help ensure BNG projects are policy compliant, commercially realistic and deliverable. This allows landowners and developers to engage with biodiversity net gain confidently, supported by clear and practical advice.

Collington Winter Environmental provides ecology-led land agency services across Shropshire. Our team supports landowners and developers with biodiversity net gain, land strategy and environmental planning advice, offering a professional service built on clarity and experience.

Whether you are reviewing land use options, considering development potential or exploring habitat creation, we provide guidance that reflects both environmental responsibility and long-term land value.

To speak with a land agent in Shropshire, contact Collington Winter Environmental at info@collingtonwinter.co.uk or call 01204 939608.