An agreement has been signed that marks the first step towards creating large new areas of habitat for wildlife in the South Downs National Park.
Thirty-one hectares of land at Iford Estate, in East Sussex, have been signed over for nature recovery. The downland is the first to appear on the National Park Authority’s register of land that is formally dedicated for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) provision.
From February, developers in England will be required to deliver 10% BNG when building new housing. This means they must deliver a net positive for the local environment by, for example, creating new habitats and green spaces. The nature restoration can happen either on- or off-site.
The Iford Biodiversity Project will ultimately see about 800ha of land permanently dedicated to nature recovery, involving the generation of about 3,000 biodiversity units.
