Oxfordshire land to transform into nature restoration site

Leading Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) provider, Environment Bank, has today (October 1) announced that legal land agreement has been signed on Cornwell Habitat Bank in Oxfordshire.

The Cornwell Habitat Bank covers more than 30 hectares of pasture and arable land that Environment Bank said is transforming into a "nature restoration site".

The area is bordered by streams, wetland, woodland, and hedgerows, making the site a "vital place to build connectivity for key species to build in abundance".

The Cornwell Habitat Bank partially lies within the nature ‘Recovery Zone,’ as identified by the Draft Oxfordshire Nature Recovery Network.

Several protected and notable species have been identified within the site, including lapwing, kingfisher, great crested newt, and brown hare.

As part of the project, the grazing marsh is being "enhanced" to contain greater floristic diversity and newly created scrapes and existing grassland and arable areas are being transformed into meadows.

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The site includes a Public Right of Way, meaning that the local community will be able to observe as the Habitat Bank continues to grow and develop over the next five to 10 years as a nature haven for the coming decades.

Areas of the Habitat Bank fall within flood zones.

Eye level view of the bank (Image: Environment Bank)

It is hoped that new scrapes within the grazing marsh, increased vegetation cover, and soil health enhancements will reduce surface water runoff and increase the soil’s water storage capacity, helping to increase resilience against the effect of climate change.

This is one of eight BNG sites, created and managed by Environment Bank in partnership with rural landowners, that cover almost 500 acres (almost 200 hectares) in total.

These sites transform low-yielding farmland into nature recovery sites and maximise biodiversity uplifts, unlocking more than 800 off-site Biodiversity Units2 for developers to purchase.

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These sites will shortly be added to the gains site register and will almost double the number of sites on the national registry.

Catherine Spitzer, CEO of Environment Bank, said: “Working alongside local farmers and landowners, Environment Bank has 25 Habitat Banks already live, generating over 4000 Biodiversity Units.

"Securing legal agreements for these sites is the final step in unlocking the supply of Biodiversity Units.

"With developers required to ensure their projects benefit nature overall, this marks a significant milestone in the implementation phase. Now with supply unlocked, we can meet growing demand.

"This is a really positive step in helping this fledgling market thrive.”