BNG Assessment and Green Investment Opportunities for non-designated land at North Moor

Descriptions

This piece of work is funded through the Somerset Wetlands Nature Recovery Project (NRP). This is a landscape scale project, focusing on recovering nature across 41,000 hectares of wetland on the Somerset Levels and Moors. A portion of Natural England's BNG funding has been allocated to Nature Recovery Projects, to allow them to be a vehicle for developing BNG within a local area. Natural England has recently acquired land on and around North Moor SSSI, within the Somerset Levels and Moors Landscape and Somerset Wetlands Nature Recovery Project Area. We would like to gain a greater understanding of what is required to deliver Biodiversity Net Gain, by using Natural England owned non-designated land and land owned by a local farmer as a case study, looking at how this can be integrated with other green finance initiatives such as carbon credits and nutrient credits and identifying opportunities for improving public health and wellbeing. This piece of work will make an important contribution to advancing the understanding how BNG can be delivered in the landscape. This piece of work aims to develop the understanding of BNG and green investment opportunities through the completion of the following work items: 1.Conduct a biodiversity metrics assessment of approximately 150 hectares of arable, grassland, ditches, ponds, hedgerows, scrub and woodland, to establish baseline biodiversity value, as well as the expected future biodiversity value, following potential habitat improvement works (see Appendix 1 for site location and the extent of the area to be assessed). Natural England will provide baseline vegetation data for ditches, grassland and arable land. Additional surveys of ponds, hedgerow, scrub, trees and woodland habitats are required. 2.Use the area as a case study within the Nature Recovery Project that demonstrates how BNG units can be delivered within the Nature Recovery Project, how these units would integrate with other finance initiatives such as carbon credits, phosphate credits and nutrient credits. 3.Add the site to the net gain site register. 4.Identify ways to connect habitat within North Moor and between North Moor and local green spaces. 5.Identify opportunities for green investment, such as carbon/nutrient/phosphate credits, that are sympathetic with BNG. 6.Identify how BNG can contribute to nature-based solutions to major challenges in the NRP area including flood risk management and improving water quality. 7.Identify opportunities to improve public health and well-being through enhancement of green spaces.