Biodiversity Solutions For Every Business
SOLUTION ONE
BNG Credits For Developers
In The South East
Iford Estate has been involved with the provision of BNG units for sale since 2020 and we believe we are one of the most advanced biodiversity projects in the South East. Our initial habitat bank is secured via a s106 agreement with the South Downs National Park (SDNP) and the agreement is designed to allow further phases to be easily added as the need arises. As a consequence we are able to react to your needs very quickly, and in some cases can offer a next day service for urgent requirements. Although we are based in Sussex the nature of BNG means that we can offer units to developers across the country. We can offer a broad range of unit types, ranging from grassland, scrub, woodland, wetland and hedgerow units. Contact us today to find out more.
We have heads of terms and a variety of agreement types available to send immediately and are happy to discuss your requirements, big or small, for BNG units for sale in Sussex and beyond.
The Sales Process
We can help at any stage of your development, although generally the sooner we are involved the more help we are able to offer. Generally, a development team will identify the need for a BNG offset, based on the metric calculations for their development site.
After initial contact is made we have found the best way is for the developer to share their metric calculations with us, allowing us to complete the “offsite” side of the metric and generate the requirements for that particular site, based on distance from our site and habitat type and distinctiveness. We are often able to suggest minor tweaks to the on-site plans that will significantly reduce the costs of delivering the BNG, particularly by retaining hard-to-replace habitat types on-site.
At this point, we can then assist with LPA engagement, either ourselves or on an officer-to-officer level through our partnership with SDNP. We are able to reassure planning officers that our offset is fully secured, monitored and, if necessary enforced upon by SDNP to guarantee the delivery of the agreed units for the 30-year term.
Once accepted by your LPA we can then tailor an agreement to meet their demands, typically we would use our template allocation agreement (copy available on request) to secure the units, but we have also used a simple Heads of Terms, a separate s106 or a straight forward option agreement.
A deposit is then payable to secure the allocation, part refundable if planning permission is not granted, and following the successful grant of permission the full amount is payable on an agreed schedule, depending on the site phasing and other factors.
SOLUTION TWO
Environmental and Social Governance Markets (ESG)
We believe that over the next few years, businesses will increasingly focus on their impact on the environment, not just in terms of their carbon footprint, but on biodiversity and the environment in general. This may be especially true of organisations concerned about their effect on the local environment.
The principles of our BNG scheme can equally be applied to those companies looking for ESG offsets, and we are exploring local biodiversity conservation schemes that will enable us to provide these offsets in a verifiable and quantifiable way.
Any potential investors will be thoroughly vetted to ensure they are following the hierarchy of Avoid, Minimise, and Restore before we will consider accepting any investment. We are categorically not interested in “greenwashing” and want to work with organisations that match our values, and genuinely care about preserving and creating wild habitats in Sussex.
As part of a package, we can offer “hands-on” outings, client meeting space, nature walks or something simpler. We want to work with organisations of all sizes in Sussex, Surrey, Kent and Hampshire, so please get in touch to discuss how we might be able to help with a solution to your problem.
