Earlier this year we were asked to contribute to The September edition of environmental SCIENTIST – the journal of the #InstitutionofEnvironmentalSciences(IES) – examines the evolving concept of ‘net gain’ in environmental policy frameworks, from both a UK and global perspective.
For the first time in a generation, Alscot Estate has the opportunity to consider its long term land use strategy. This comes at a time where the agricultural transition in England, alongside a broader political agenda of tackling environmental crises, means that rural land management is now focused not only on quality food production, but also on environmental provision and social value.
As a result, Alscot’s ambition is to farm in a regenerative manner and from September 2024, we began farming regeneratively on “home farm” land.
The year 6 students from The Croft Preparatory School ventured to the Estate again this week to take part in nature studies on the biodiversity land at Alscot. The children took part in orienteering, identifying native tree species, an invertebrates study and a wildlife and plant ID walk. We hope the activity day inspired the children to become a positive voice for nature in future, and based on their enthusiasm, even on a damp day, we have no doubt that they will.
Click HERE for the video
Alscot Park was the venue on Friday 9th Dec for the C&W Chamber of Commerce South Warwickshire Branch Meeting. The topic of conversation was green skills and how businesses are focusing on becoming more sustainable. It was a great opportunity to network with like-minded individuals and businesses and share thoughts, ideas and connections.
In January 2021 we started the Estate’s Ditch Maintenance Program. Covering circa 4,000 acres of land it’s a huge and on-going undertaking, concentrating on Clifford Chambers and Atherstone on Stour in the first year, extending to land in Preston on Stour and Alderminster, and the rotation system allows wildlife to recolonize.
We have been shortlisted as a finalist in the Coventry/Warwickshire Live Business Awards 2022 in the Green Business of the Year category for the Alscot Biodiversity Project.
The Awards celebrate the city's finest businesses, entrepreneurs, and organisations across 12 different categories
Party in the Park held at Alscot Park on Sunday 17th July raised a whopping £6,500 for Shipston Home Nursing.
The event was a milestone celebration to mark the 25th year of SHN and the remarkable work they do providing support and care to families who are facing difficult times in their lives.
This years theme 'Party in the Park' included a car boot sale, classic car display, live music, cocktail bar, teas, children's entertainer and camels. Those attending had the opportunity to browse the family gardens and historic parkland, and see some of the magnificent architecture, structures, ponds, vistas, and of course the abundant, fragrant and spectacular trees and flowers.
The event raised £6,500 for the charity.
We were delighted to introduce members of the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP, Growth Hub, to a very small but diverse selection of businesses based at Alscot, to understand the scale of our operation now and the potential for expansion in future.
See the video HERE
The Croft Launch the First Primary School Environmental Activity Study Day on the Alscot Biodiversity Project Site.
They say doing something later is better than not doing it at all and much can be said for this new environmental opportunity. We are thrilled and delighted that following a long postponement, a group of year six children and their teachers, have taken part in the very first Alscot Biodiversity Project Activity Study Day.
On Thursday 28th April, teacher Tom Genders lead a group of forty year six students, aged 10-11yrs, in a series of activities, discovering and learning different aspects of plant and wildlife in the local countryside. Mariya Tarnavska and Ben Wood, Ecologists at Warwickshire County Council, who support the venture, joined the children to share lots of interesting facts on amphibians, and even brought along some young toads and newts. Masha commented “we were both impressed with the knowledge and enthusiasm of the children. It was heart-warming when two children shared with us that they would like to like to learn more about animals and become biologists.”
THE Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Alscot Estate are two of the organisations that have signed up to test E-cargo bikes.
However, there are still plenty of opportunities for business, charities and other groups to get involved with the scheme, which launched on Monday (4th April).
The Stratford District Council initiative is aimed at encouraging businesses, organisations, community and voluntary groups across the area to use electric bikes instead of cars and vans for local deliveries.
A number of roadshows will be taking place across the district to show how the e-bikes work and to encourage others to get involved in the trials.
The roadshows will take place from 11am to 2pm on:
Thursday, 14th April: High Street, Bidford
Tuesday, 19th April: Sainsbury’s car park, Wellesbourne
Friday, 22nd April: location TBC, Studley
Tuesday, 26th April: Waitrose car park, Alcester
Other venues to be confirmed include Shipston and Henley.
Cllr Ian Shenton, climate change portfolio holder at SDC, said: “There’s some amazing local businesses and organisations who are really passionate about the environment and want to do more. We are really pleased to help them access a greener way to travel and deliver their services.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for businesses and organisations to sign up to test the scheme out and see if it suits their needs.
“I really hope that seeing the E-cargo bikes in use will encourage other businesses and organisations across the district, to give one a go helping Stratford district become greener and contribute to south Warwickshire’s climate change ambitions.”
Andrew Anderson, environmental health and safety officer at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, added: “This fantastic initiative is a great way of reducing our reliance on vans to transport goods between our historic sites, and meets our ambition to operate sustainably and becoming carbon net zero in our own emissions by 2030.”
Emma Holman-West, Alscot Estate CEO Estate and business owner said: “Here at Alscot, we have opted for an E-cargo trike, which is fitted with a box that allows up to 50kg in weight to be transported and the trike will be branded with the Alscot logo, so not only is it functional but it is a travelling advertisement.”
We are delighted to be taking part in this initiative by Stratford-on-Avon District Council along with Shakespeare Birthplace Trust as the first two businesses to sign up to the trial.
These electric bikes are excellent for transporting stock on short journeys rather than using a car or van. If any Alscot businesses are interested in joining the initiative then drop us a line and we will put you in touch with the organiser.
Read more details HERE
Alscot Park was the venue on Friday 4th March 2022, for government ministers and officials and other leading industry representatives, to come together and discuss Biodiversity Net Gain at Warwickshire’s first major private project site.
Nadhim Zahawi MP, Secretary of State for Education, speaking at the event within his constituency to introduce the Alscot Biodiversity Project, said, ‘‘It’s great to see and be introduced to this exciting project today in Stratford upon Avon. We are blessed with some of the most beautiful countryside in the world and it is important that we ensure it is protected whilst simultaneously encouraging the growth needed to improve the day-to-day lives of people in the area. It is clear BNG has the potential to deliver sustainable development and housing with the support of local communities.”
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) often referred to as biodiversity offsetting, is where conservation activities compensate for biodiversity loss in a measurable way, leaving the natural environment in a better state than it was previously. BNG is compensation for habitats and species lost to development, with habitat creation taking place in another area. This policy is part of efforts to make sure the wider environment’s biodiversity levels are unaffected by construction developments and thus allows economic activity to occur whilst the environment continues to flourish.
Mandatory net gain, informed by the Defra 3.0 Biodiversity Metric, sits within the Environmental Act and some local planning authorities have already imposed the requirement set out in the BNG consultation. It is a minimum requirement of 10% for applicable development types to assist with efforts to reverse biodiversity decline. Warwickshire County Council was pioneering in the approach that requires developers, operating in Warwickshire, to achieve a 10 per cent net gain, even though the legislation mandating it in the rest of England was only received in Parliament in November 2021. Until now, there has been no statutory requirement for developments to deliver BNG, although the protection of the environment has remained as one of the main objectives in the national planning policy. The Act changes this now in a positive way.
Not all development sites can mitigate the loss of environmental value on the same site as the development and this is when they look to landowners. This is known as Mitigation Hierarchy.
In early 2020 in a landmark deal, Alscot Biodiversity Project was one of the first private ventures of its kind in the UK, to work-up a detailed legal agreement with Warwickshire County Council to offer BNG units to developers.
A BNG unit is measured, by using the Defra 3.0 Biodiversity Metric, the proportion of land in any given location that will see improvements made to its green spaces. The metric is a habitat-based approach used to assess an area's value to wildlife. The metric uses habitat features to calculate a biodiversity value. e.g. species-rich grassland is more valuable than species-poor grassland. The metric is used by ecologists, planners or developers carrying out a biodiversity assessment on land.
Alscot was at the forefront of this revolutionary approach and following on from numerous surveys to form a Biodiversity Net Gain Management Plan (BOMP), carried out by a specialist firm of ecologists that was subject to approval by the local planning authority, Alscot has been following a strict 30 year biodiversity management plan which scales 20ha of farmland. Through careful management and investment, the objective of the project is to work to secure a future for plant and animal species by the improvement and enhancement of natural grasslands and woodlands, encouraging rare and almost extinct species to thrive. Contractual obligations ensure that the BOMP is accountable, and this is done by regular monitoring visits to site and the submission of an annual detailed report prepared by competent ecologists.
Emma Holman-West commented, “it is really exciting, yet challenging, to be at the forefront of such a revolution. The objectives of this project tie in perfectly with our 50 year Estate business plan and our aim for carbon neutrality by 2050.
I discovered the concept of BNG by accident whilst searching for ways to improve our green spaces. I was working on a project to reinstate historic parkland at the time, and I was reading a lot about trees and green canopies. Whilst researching I discovered a book about rewilding, and I was fascinated by the approach. At the same time, I received an invitation by Westminster Briefing, to a biodiversity seminar where David Lowe, Head Ecologist at WCC, happened to be speaking about the BNG consultation and WCC’s leading part in the pilot project.
BNG is a new concept for landowners, with several risky unknowns, for instance a 30year investment commitment. For now, this diversification project fits into our 50yr long-term strategy, and having green aspirations I aim to move forward by introducing connectivity with a second phase, enabling us to sustain a commercial business and improve our green spaces within the community for future generations”
Speaking at the event to leaders of Stratford upon Avon and Warwick District Council, Warwickshire County Council and other industry specialists, Marian Spain, CEO, Natural England, spoke passionately about her views and devotion to conservation, environmental protection, and sustainable development. Fellow colleague and Principal Biodiversity Net Gain Advisor for Natural England, Nick White, who works with all sectors to advance policy, practice, and standards around BNG, took part in a valuable question and answer session.
Jonathan Thompson, who assists Alscot in their biodiversity planning and brokerage of assets, explained “The 20ha of land included within this project is enabling somewhere in the region of 300-400 houses to be built in Warwickshire, allowing economic development in the area without any loss to biodiversity. As one of the leading private projects of its type in the country, Alscot has put BNG on the map and it has attracted a phenomenal amount interest, including that of, Rebecca Pow MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Member of Parliament for Kenilworth and Southam, The Rt Hon Jeremy Wright, who was amongst those in attendance at Alscot Park. Investing in nature’s recovery is a vital national priority.”
Alscot have added a voluntary arm to their project and actively collaborate with local primary schools (curricular and non-curricular) to encourage environmental understanding through practical activities on site. The Alscot Biodiversity Education project is proving to be highly successful, with seven local primary schools already actively engaging with the Estate, in different environmentally friendly activities and Stratford-on-Avon’s MP supports this initiative.
Ends
See the video Here
Alscot has donated a beautiful oak tree to Nettlefold Garden, just one of the projects run by Moor Pool Heritage Trust; a charity formed specifically to acquire the community facilities for the benefit of the local and wider community. The tree has been donated and planted as part of The Queen's Green Canopy initiative to mark The Queen's Platinum Jubilee this year. The tree will be formally recognised at an event over the Jubilee weekend 2-5th June 2022.
To learn more about The MPHT follow the link http://moorpoolhall.org.uk/.../moor-pool-heritage-trust.html
Despite the heavy rain and biting cold wind, it was muddy boots, wet weather gear and big smiles all the way at the Alscot Biodiversity Project Tree Planting Workshop on Sunday 13th February.
The Croft Preparatory School have embraced the collaboration with Alscot and Mr Tom Genders, Head of The Croft Eco Club, keen gardener, and environmentalist, held a voluntary Tree Planting Workshop for local primary school children.
Taking advantage of an opportunity to refurbish this traditional and substantial farmhouse with gardens, we set about work in Nov 2021 to update the property to suit modern day living.
The existing kitchen, downstairs WC and dining room were opened up into one large family space, with a brand new WC being converted from a pantry. A new fitted utility room was created from a disused cold store and an independent space, suitable for a home office or gym, was created from a boiler room.
Our work with local primary schools, through the Alscot Biodiversity Project, took us to Bridgetown Primary School, to help out in their eco garden. When Mrs Bishop appealed for help, we were delighted to assist with replacement timber for the children to use as seats around the fire pit. The rotten wood will remain in the garden and over time will form a habitat and shelter for wildlife.
In ‘Forest School’, the children are allowed to explore for themselves the natural environment, learning to appreciate and gain a respect for nature.
As a little gift from us, our foresters made the children a couple of timber mushrooms.
