Biodiversity Net Gain on the Ground - and Behind the Scenes!

Ground Control's Chris Bawtree sharing his insights into setting up a BNG project.

FWAG East members and guests enjoyed an enlightening insight into a trail blazing Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) site this month, on a behind the scenes tour of the Wildfell Centre for Environmental Recovery at Wethersfield, Essex, owned by national landscaping company Ground Control.

Andrew Marriot, Rural Advisor with the CLA, kicked off the morning with a presentation on the nuts and bolts of BNG, before Chris Bawtree, Director of Nature Recovery at Ground Control's Evergreen environmental impact fund, shared with us his honest experiences of the opportunities and pitfalls of setting up an ambitious BNG portfolio on sites in both Essex and Cambridgeshire.

Ground Control are early movers into the BNG market and, while the site in Cambridgeshire has already sold credits, the Essex site (which was established earlier) is yet to negotiate a Section 106 agreement, showing that access to these markets hinges heavily on the preparedness of Local Planning Authorities.

The picturesque Wildfell Centre for Environmental Recovery (formerly Grays Farm, Wethersfield).

The 300-acre former farm site is situated in the picturesque Pant Valley and benefits from an ancient woodland at its heart. The farm has been completely taken out of arable production. Instead, the fields are now adorned with newly-establishing species-rich meadows, recently created and restored ponds (14 and counting) extensive wood and scrubland planting, natural regeneration areas and a traditional orchard which will also engage the local community.

As a national landscaping company with an interest in environmental and social responsibility, exploring BNG market opportunities made sense on several levels for Ground Control. The company was able to keep the costs of project management, baseline assessments and establishment down by using in-house expertise and likely has a ready market of potential buyers among their existing clients. However, the initial set up cost (funded by their own Evergreen environmental impact fund – a fund dedicating 5% of annual net profits to environmental initiatives and carbon sequestration) will still have been considerable.

Ground Control has undertaken an extensive programme of pond restoration and creation (under both BNG and the Natural England DLL scheme) which will go a long way towards boosting biodiversity at the site.

A clear take-home from the day was that BNG, with its requirements for scale, large set-up costs, unpredictable demand and long commitment terms, may not be an option for all farms. It also remains to be seen whether BNG will deliver all we would hope for nature regeneration - or how it will sit alongside the dual agendas of producing more food and energy on British land for the home markets.

However, there is no doubt the land here at Wildfell is undergoing a comprehensive uplift in biodiversity funded by the corporate sector - which is surely something to celebrate in this very special part of Essex.

With thanks to Chris Bawtree and Ground Control for hosting a very interesting tour.

BNG may not be for everyone and we do advise that anyone interested proceeds with caution. For those who do decide to take the plunge, FWAG East offers competitive rates for ecological surveys, baseline reports and management plans. Contact us for an informal chat today!