Strategic Significance Explained
Overview
Strategic significance is the part of the statutory metric that ties a habitat's unit value to where it is. Two otherwise identical parcels can score differently because one sits in a location that local strategy has flagged as important for nature. It is applied as a multiplier on the unit calculation.
In broad terms the multiplier has three tiers:
| Tier | Multiplier | When it applies (broadly) |
|---|---|---|
| High | ×1.15 | Habitat delivered in a location identified in the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (or equivalent local priority) |
| Medium | ×1.1 | Formally identified local significance of a lesser degree |
| Low | ×1.0 | No identified strategic significance (the default) |
Why it matters for BNG
Strategic significance is the metric's spatial steering wheel. It exists to push habitat creation and enhancement toward the right places, not just any place:
- It rewards aligning off-site gains with the Local Nature Recovery Strategy, making strategically located units worth more.
- Because it is a multiplier, it compounds with distinctiveness and condition — a modest-looking ×1.15 can tip a scheme's viability.
- It is decided by location plus local designation, so it depends on the currency and coverage of local strategy data.
How it works — England
- Determine the habitat's location.
- Check whether that location is identified as strategically significant in the relevant local strategy — increasingly the LNRS for the area.
- Apply the corresponding multiplier (×1.0 / ×1.1 / ×1.15) in the metric.
The multiplier applies to the delivered habitat's location — so it is a live lever when choosing where to place off-site units, not just an attribute of the baseline.
The basis for strategic significance has been transitioning toward LNRS "mapped measures" as strategies are published area by area. What counts as strategically significant in a given area depends on whether — and how — its LNRS has landed. Confirm the current position for the specific LPA.
Nation differences
A feature of the England statutory metric. The devolved nations do not operate an identical unit-multiplier mechanism (see What is BNG?).
Related datasets
- LNRS Local Habitat Maps — the emerging spatial basis for the high-significance tier.
WildStack's take
Strategic significance is where BNG stops being pure accounting and starts trying to do spatial planning for nature — and it is only as good as the local strategy behind it. Where an LNRS is mature and well-mapped, the ×1.15 is a genuine, rational incentive to put habitat where it will do most good. Where the strategy is thin or still in transition, the multiplier risks becoming a box-ticking lottery. Our advice: treat strategic significance as a reason to engage with the LNRS early, not a bonus to claim retrospectively — the value is in siting decisions made up front, and those decisions need current local-strategy data to be defensible.
Official sources
- Statutory biodiversity metric tools and guides — GOV.UK
- Incorporating Local Nature Recovery Strategies when planning for BNG — Defra blog
Last reviewed
5 July 2026. Revisit as LNRS publication progresses across England, or if the metric changes the multiplier tiers or the basis for assigning them.