As well as being invaluable spaces for sport, relaxation and social connection, golf courses can also be vital havens for wildlife, writes Freeths Waste and Sustainability Director Kirstin Roberts.
Many clubs are enhancing the ecological value of their courses to support biodiversity and enrich their members’ experience. If they are developed in the right way, these habitats can support the club financially too.
Since February 2024, most new developments in England have to deliver a minimum 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), meaning that habitats for wildlife are left in a measurably better state than they were before the development. If it isn’t possible to achieve this 10% BNG by enhancing nature on the development site, developers can purchase off-site biodiversity units from landowners. BNG regulation has created a rapidly growing demand for legally compliant off-site biodiversity units which developers can rely on. Golf courses are well placed to meet that demand because they are often both rich in habitat features and close to new developments.
Natural capital – your club’s environmental assets that provide essential benefits to society and the economy – are a rare opportunity to align environmental stewardship with long‑term financial resilience. Biodiversity units are not a short‑term trend or a speculative market. BNG schemes are typically secured for 30 years through legally binding agreements, ecological assessment and long‑term management plans. For golf clubs willing to explore the opportunity carefully, BNG schemes can provide a reliable and predictable income stream, without undermining the game itself.
Golf courses as ready‑made habitat banks
A habitat bank is an area of land that is enhanced or created specifically to generate biodiversity units to be sold to developers to meet their BNG obligations. Many golf courses already contain the core elements needed to create a compliant habitat bank. Naturalised rough, grassland margins, ponds, watercourses, woodland belts and scrub are common features, as is land that sits outside regular play or has limited golfing value. In practice, it’s often these marginal or out‑of‑play areas that offer the greatest ecological potential. Land that contributes little to the playing experience can, with the right planning and enhancement, deliver significant biodiversity gains. Done well, this approach can strengthen wildlife corridors, improve landscape resilience and create measurable ecological uplift, all without redesigning the course or disrupting your members.
The case for golf clubs
While every course and location is different, BNG schemes provide predictable income over decades because they are structured around long‑term management commitments. Crucially, this income is often generated from land that would otherwise deliver little or no financial return. Rough ground, wooded corners or wet areas can become income‑producing natural capital assets, rather than cost centres. Enhanced habitats can strengthen a club’s environmental credentials with local communities and local authorities and benefit their members.
While outcomes vary, an 18‑hole course with several hectares of suitable land, good connectivity to local ecological networks and existing wetland or woodland features can generate meaningful value through the sale of off-site biodiversity units. These arrangements are becoming increasingly common, particularly around growing towns and major transport corridors where there are developments and limited potential for developers to meet their BNG requirements on site.
Freeths is one of the UK’s leading advisers in natural capital and environmental law. We’re working with a growing number of golf clubs to help them understand how these arrangements work in practice, how value can be generated responsibly and how they can remain firmly in control of their land and operations.
These are some basic steps to follow if you want your club to offer off-site biodiversity units.
1. Understand the complexity
Golf clubs face particular challenges when entering the market for off-site biodiversity units. Courses have complex membership structures, playing schedules and land management regimes. Any long‑term commitment must be compatible with those realities and legal agreements need to reflect them. We can support clubs through the entire process, from initial structuring to final sale, ensuring that risks are properly managed and you retain appropriate control over your land.
2. Establish if a habitat bank is right for your club
Before embarking on a BNG scheme, consider how much non‑playing land may be suitable for habitat creation, what level of income could realistically be generated over a 30‑year management period, and whether any existing contracts or operational constraints could affect delivery. This will ensure that any scheme is both practical and proportionate.
3. Identify your potential habitat bank
Identify suitable areas of land on your course with the support of professional ecologists. Once potential habitat areas are identified, the focus shifts to structuring the habitat bank in a way that protects course operations and aligns with regulatory requirements, including registration with Natural England. This process is not about giving up land or control; with the right legal framework in place, clubs can retain ownership and oversight while still unlocking long‑term value.
4. Take care with contracts
Ecologists play a vital role in designing, assessing and monitoring BNG schemes, but poorly defined scopes or obligations can create problems down the line. Contracts need to be clear about deliverables, monitoring responsibilities and regulatory compliance. Careful drafting and negotiation at this stage can help clubs avoid hidden commitments or unexpected costs over the lifetime of the scheme.
5. Find a buyer for your biodiversity units
The market for natural capital brokers has expanded rapidly and the quality of agreements varies. Brokers can provide access to developers looking to buy off-site biodiversity units, but you must scrutinise exclusivity terms, sale mechanics and payment structures carefully. Clubs need to be confident that payment flows are secure and obligations are fair. Make sure that you understand any long‑term risks before signing a brokerage arrangement.
6. Get the sale agreement right
When it comes to selling off-site biodiversity units, sale agreements must strike a careful balance. They need to deliver secure income streams and clear payment milestones while ensuring compliance with planning law and environmental regulations. Equally important is avoiding unnecessary exposure to risk. Well‑drafted agreements should support the ecological objectives of the scheme without placing disproportionate burdens on the club.
7. Act sooner rather than later
Demand for off-site biodiversity units will increase as developments progress through the planning system. Clubs that explore these opportunities early may benefit from stronger pricing, greater income certainty and increased leverage when negotiating with brokers and buyers. If you delay, you may find the market becomes more crowded over time, with values levelling off as supply increases.
8. Take the first step
The Freeths Natural Capital team works with golf clubs across the country to help them explore these opportunities safely, responsibly and on their own terms: we’re here to help.
