Scottish Planning Biodiversity Metric - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Scottish biodiversity metric is being developed for Scotland’s planning system, to support delivery of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) Policy 3b.

NPF4 Policy 3b states that national and major developments, or those subject to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), will only be supported where it can be shown that they will conserve, restore and enhance biodiversity, including nature networks, so they are in a demonstrably better state. 

Policy 3b does not specify or require use of a particular assessment approach or methodology, though the policy makes it clear that best practice assessment methods should be used. In the absence of an established Scottish assessment approach, a range of methods, including variations of England’s Statutory Biodiversity Metric (“the English metric” or “the Defra metric”), are being used to measure biodiversity at a site-level in Scotland. It is acknowledged that this lack of a standardised approach could lead to confusion and inconsistencies.

For guidance on securing positive effects for biodiversity from local development to support NPF4 Policy 3c, please refer to our Developing with Nature Guidance. 

We expect the Scottish biodiversity metric to be fully available in 2027, with a consultation planned for mid-2026 on a working draft metric tool and accompanying guidance. In the meantime, we have published Guidance on the use of existing biodiversity metrics in the Scottish planning system.

There are no plans to introduce Scottish legislation on biodiversity metrics. It is recognised that the use and application of a Scottish biodiversity planning metric will be different to the use of the English Statutory Biodiversity Metric. This reflects Scotland’s policy-led approach to delivering positive effects for biodiversity from development, which differs from England’s statutory approach. 

The Scottish biodiversity metric will be suitable for use within the Scottish planning and consenting context as a tool to inform decisions at all stages, including siting and design. It will also be suitable for use by the decision maker when determining an application. This will require the application of professional judgement on a case-by-case basis, as is the case with all planning applications. 

There are no plans to introduce a Scottish scheme for the purchase or sale of Biodiversity Credits for the Scottish planning system. 

This differs from England, where statutory biodiversity credits can be purchased as a last resort option, if the English requirement for 10% biodiversity net gain cannot be achieved through on-site or off-site measures. 

A Scottish biodiversity metric user guide will be consulted on alongside the draft tool in mid-2026 with a final version released in 2027.

NPF4 Policy 3b does not specify or require a particular assessment approach or methodology to demonstrate the delivery of positive effects for biodiversity, though the policy makes it clear that best practice assessment methods should be used.

Assessment may be qualitative or quantitative (for example through use of a metric). NatureScot’s guidance on the use of existing biodiversity metrics in the Scottish planning system explains how metric tools work. It outlines good practice on the use of biodiversity metrics in a Scottish planning context, and in an appendix of the guidance, it sets out the key differences between the main metrics that are currently publicly available – the English Statutory Biodiversity Metric and the Scottish and Southern Energy Renewables (SSER) biodiversity project toolkit.

Users may wish to be aware of these differences, as well as the research findings from the Approaches to Measuring Biodiversity in Scotland  (“The SRUC Report”). In the absence of a Scottish biodiversity metric, this will be important when considering whether to use one of the two main published metrics, which metric to use and how to interpret its outputs.  

Scottish Government guidance advises that, where a developer wishes to use an established metric or tool, the planning submission should demonstrate how Scotland’s habitats and environmental conditions have been taken into account. 

As we progress with the development of the Scottish biodiversity metric, updates will be posted on the NatureScot webpage A Biodiversity Metric for Scotland’s Planning System.

If you have any queries or comments, please email: [email protected].

NatureScot will consult on the draft Scottish biodiversity metric and user guide following release in mid-2026. The consultation will be open to all interested parties and further information will be released at the time regarding the duration of the consultation period. All feedback provided through the consultation will be considered and used to inform the development of the final metric and user guide which is expected to be published in 2027. 

In the meantime, if you have any queries or comments, please email [email protected]

Several resources have been published to date which provide an overview of biodiversity metrics within the Scottish context. 

NatureScot’s guidance on the use of existing biodiversity metrics in the Scottish planning system explains how metric tools work. 

A presentation on Planning Skills - A Biodiversity Metric for Scotland's Planning System provides a useful overview of the metric project which was originally presented at an Improvement Service event in December 2024. A recent Scottish biodiversity metric – Update October 2025 provides a brief overview of the metric development process to date and next steps. 

To ensure that the SPBM habitat classifications approach is fit for purpose in Scotland we commissioned an independent review of classification systems that could be used within the SPBM. Having considered the review report’s recommendations, we propose to retain an underlying reliance on the UK Habitat Classification (UKHab) as a basis for SPBM terrestrial habitats. This is discussed in our update on the proposed metric habitat classification approach. We are seeking as much alignment as possible with existing UKHab categories, meaning that familiarity with (and baseline survey in) UKHab will form a suitable basis for use of the future SPBM calculation tool. Our consultation version user guide and calculation tool will help explain how we are making use of existing UKHab categories and coding, and any limited metric-specific departures from this. As discussed in our fuller update note, some familiarity with the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) system will also be helpful as a means of distinguishing between UKHab/ SPBM categories in Scotland’s semi-natural and upland ecosystems. 

In the English statutory metric there are certain habitats, including blanket bog, that are recognised in England’s legislation as ‘irreplaceable’. For these, the English metric user guide advises that any losses or deterioration impacts cannot be calculated and that developers should discuss and agree bespoke compensation with the relevant planning authority on a case-by-case basis. No bespoke compensation is recorded within the English tool. 

Taking account of Scotland’s devolved regulatory and policy frameworks, and that certain habitats will be regularly encountered by renewables and transmission projects in Scotland’s uplands, the SPBM will be used to calculate losses and compensation for all habitats. This aids consistency and helps avoid the need to agree case-by-case bespoke compensation with planning authorities. However, it will ultimately be for the decision maker to determine whether losses or other adverse impacts on habitats from individual development proposals are acceptable based on the circumstances of the case. 

We are now using the name ‘Scottish Planning Biodiversity Metric’ to reflect that the primary purpose of the metric is within the Scottish planning and consenting context. The tool will be available to help support delivery of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) Policy 3b, which requires national and major developments, or those subject to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), to include “significant biodiversity enhancements” that leave nature in a “demonstrably better state”.

Addressing the nature crisis requires measures to be retained for the long term (preferably in perpetuity), in order to deliver a lasting legacy. How this will be done should be set out in the planning application and may vary depending on the circumstances of the application. Where planning conditions or obligations are to be used, the relevant tests set out in Planning Circular 4/1998 and Planning Circular 4/2025 must be met. For something to be taken into account as a material consideration it must be relevant to planning and relate to the development proposed by the particular application under consideration. The development of the SPBM does not alter these existing principles.

As noted in NatureScot’s guidance on the use of existing biodiversity metrics in the Scottish planning system, NPF4 Policy 3b does not specify or require a particular assessment approach or methodology to demonstrate the delivery of positive effects for biodiversity, and in Scotland an assessment may be qualitative or quantitative (for example through use of a metric). 

The SPBM is being developed to offer a consistent best practice approach which can be used across Scotland. There will be a transition towards its use for those wishing to adopt a quantitative approach. It will be helpful to allow flexibility around the transition towards use of the SPBM, especially for stakeholders already using other metrics, and with applications in train.

The consultation version SPBM will be a working tool, and we will welcome any stakeholder feedback based on its use during and after consultation as we refine towards final publication. We do recognise that there may be practical challenges of trying to apply revised SPBM condition assessment criteria or habitat classifications retrospectively to data that has already been collected during the 2026 field season. Practitioners should judge on a case-by-case basis whether to apply the consultation version to live cases, whilst noting that a refined version is expected to be published in spring 2027.

The SPBM is a tool to support decision making and  aligns with Scottish Government Planning Guidance: Biodiversity. In summary, the government guidance advises that: 

• On-site enhancement should be prioritised before off-site delivery.
• Off-site delivery can occur where the relevant policy tests cannot be met on-site, but in such circumstances off-site delivery should be as close as possible to the development site, firstly considering the immediate landscape context.

• Where planning conditions or planning obligations are to be used, all relevant and applicable tests (set out in planning circulars) will apply.

  Case-by-case judgement will continue to be required by the decision maker on what is appropriate based on the circumstances of the individual case. The metric’s ‘Spatial Risk Multiplier’ can help to support Scottish Government policy and guidance by incentivising on-site delivery by delivering a greater return of biodiversity units in these circumstances. Where off-site delivery is proposed there will be a request for the applicant to submit rationale, including how it is expected to be secured through the planning system. 

In England, the biodiversity gain site register is a public, online record of land that has been designated to provide off-site biodiversity net gain for development projects.

An off-site biodiversity gain site register will not be developed as part of the SPBM project.

No new policy, guidance or planning authority powers will be created as part of the SPBM project in relation to planning enforcement. Enhancements as part of a metric will be enforced through existing planning conditions and planning obligations subject to all relevant and applicable tests set out in set Planning Circular 4/1998 and Planning Circular 4/2025. 

The development of the SPBM does not alter existing principles on enforcement. Planning enforcement, including enforcement of conditions which require biodiversity enhancement, is a matter for the relevant planning authority. It will therefore continue to be for the authority to consider whether a breach of planning control has occurred and if they consider this to be the case, what action to take in order to mitigate or resolve the breach.

The use and application of the SPBM in Scotland will be different to use of the English Statutory Metric (see Q3: Will the Scottish Planning Biodiversity Metric be supported by legislation).  

In England, legislative provisions requiring mandatory biodiversity net gain mean that, for certain types of development, there is a statutory requirement to demonstrate that all losses have been offset and an additional uplift of at least 10% will be delivered. 

In Scotland, NPF4 Policy 3b states that ‘significant biodiversity enhancements’ will be provided in addition to any proposed mitigation, but the policy does not specify a numerical uplift target.  

In the Scottish planning system, NPF4 policies should be read and applied as a whole, and it is for the decision-maker to determine what weight to attach to individual policies on a case-by-case basis, although Policy 1 is clear that significant weight will be given to the global climate and nature crises when considering all development proposals. Scottish Government Planning Guidance: Biodiversity (at paragraph 4.14) sets out considerations that should be taken into account when judging how much enhancement should be delivered based on the circumstances of the individual case.

The SPBM should be considered a tool to inform decision-making. It will not identify a numerical target or replace the need for the application of professional judgement by the decision maker.

The approach that we will recommend is to represent Biodiversity Unit (BU) uplift as a proportion of BU value of all habitats contained within a ‘biodiversity assessment boundary’. This ‘biodiversity assessment boundary’ is defined as areas which are: (a) negatively impacted by the development (both direct and indirect impacts); and (b) used to contribute towards BU delivery (including any off-site areas of habitat that will contribute to BU delivery). Unimpacted habitats do not need be included in the ‘biodiversity assessment boundary’.