Natural Capital

Natural capital assessments work to get an understanding, measure, and value of our dependencies on nature. The results of the assessments can be used to plan the sustainable management of resources that are classed as natural capital.

A natural capital assessment will consider the pressure put on our ecosystems, taking into account:

• Air quality
• Biodiversity
• Carbon storage
• Habitats
• Natural flood defences
• Resilience.

We can help you to strategize ways you can enhance your land’s value through innovative legal mechanisms leveraging the availability of assets and reducing risk. We have an extensive network of professional consultants who can also assist you in evaluating potential revenue streams. This helps to generate and future-proof your income.

We can help you with a wide range of compliance and project development, including:

• Nutrient neutrality schemes
• Water neutrality schemes
• Biodiversity net gain solutions
• Section 106/33 agreements
• Conservation covenants.

This can be a complex area of natural capital, and various areas need to be considered. We can advise you on:

• Facilitating the acquisition and disposal of nutrient (including nitrate and phosphate credits)
• Planning agreements
• Commercial contracts
• Allocation agreements
• Land conveyancing
• Farm business tenancies
• Biodiversity allocation agreements.

There are tax implications that need to be considered with natural capital. Our tax solicitors have decades of experience in helping business owners and individuals plan a clear strategy.

We can advise you on ways you can optimise your tax positions, including agricultural and business property relief.

Some of our recent work in natural capital projects includes:

• Advising a landed estate on establishing a nutrient neutrality trading scheme for approximately 3,000 credits in the Solent Catchment. At the time, this was the largest woodland planting scheme on the South Coast. The scheme provides offsite mitigation to unlock hundreds of units of residential developments. Our advice covered planning agreements with numerous local authorities, natural capital schemes, and estate management
• Advising on multiple nutrient mitigation schemes for landowners, farmers, and developers in generating and creating credits
• Advising a national habitat bank operator on the establishment of habitat banks for biodiversity net gain across the country. This included the landowner agreements and planning agreements
• Advising landowners, promoters, and developers on several water neutrality projects in Horsham. This involved unlocking hundreds of residential units for development.

Resources classed as natural capital (fish, trees, water, etc.) give us indefinite sources of assets. However, this can only be the case if these resources are managed in a sustainable way.

To do this, we need to make sure the underlying natural assets are properly looked after, and that we only use the income. Natural capital becomes unsustainable if the renewable capital is used beyond the natural income it produces.

This is why it’s vital that natural capital projects are properly managed and maintained. Contact us today to discuss your goals and we can start creating a tailored plan to ensure a sustainable project.