Wood Norton (credit: Jimmy King)
How NWT uses Green Finance to support Norfolk’s wildlife
At its simplest, green finance is any structured financial activity – a product or service – that’s been created to ensure a better environmental outcome. It includes an array of loans, debt mechanisms and environmentally positive investments that are used to encourage the development of green projects or minimize the impact on the climate of more regular projects. Or a combination of both.
Typical projects that fall under the green finance umbrella include:
- Renewable energy and energy efficiency
- Pollution prevention and control
- Biodiversity enhancement and restoration
- Climate change adaptation and mitigation
- Circular economy initiatives
- Sustainable use of natural resources and land
Through changes in regulation and legislation as a result of the ambitious 2021 Environment Act, building on the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Environmental Improvement Plan, the government has introduced a range of publicly funded initiatives to kick start the green economy.
What is Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation scheme?
In short: Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation scheme channels developers’ money into creating healthier river habitats for wildlife, new green spaces for people, and unlocks housing development that might otherwise have been stalled. It’s a win–win for conservation and sustainable development.
In detail: In freshwater habitats, nutrient pollution caused by high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in rivers and wetlands—a problem called ‘eutrophication’ — can speed up the growth of certain plants and damage the delicate ecosystems that wildlife depends on. Many of England’s most important rivers and their surrounding catchments are already considered to be in ‘unfavourable’ condition because of this. To help us restore our freshwater habitats, it’s vital that we don’t increase the amount of damaging nutrients we are adding to them. The main sources of the high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in our freshwater habitats are agricultural fertilisers and wastewater coming from housing.
In 2022, Natural England announced that local planning authorities had to ensure that new development did not cause adverse impacts to protected habitats such as the Broads and Wensum Special Areas of Conservation prior to granting planning permission. To gain planning consent, developers were required to demonstrate that their proposal did not add to the nutrient burden in the catchment, through offsetting solutions including the purchase of ‘nutrient credits’ generated through local nutrient mitigation schemes. A national fund of over £30 million, backed by government, helps supply these credits to enable developers to create the housing our communities need.
How did Norfolk Wildlife Trust use Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation scheme to purchase and restore 100 acres of land at Foxley Wood in 2024?
NWT received £1.3 million through a Natural England Nutrient Mitigation scheme agreement in return for delivering significant environmental benefits over a 125-year period. These include reducing the amount of nutrient pollution released from the land into the Wensum and Broads River catchments and the expansion of NWT’s existing Foxley Wood nature reserve by 100 acres.
The new land purchase was also made possible thanks to several generous donors, including two significant legacies left for Norfolk Wildlife Trust, by Graham Churchyard and Adrian Gunson.
How did Norfolk Wildlife Trust use Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation scheme to buy 336 acres of land at Wood Norton in 2025?
NWT received £3.8million through a Natural England Nutrient Mitigation scheme agreement in return for delivering significant environmental benefits over a 125-year period. These include reducing the amount of nutrient pollution released from the land into the Wensum and Broads River catchments and the creation of a new 336-acre nature reserve.
We are in the process of selling a farmhouse and associated barns found on the land, which will raise enough funds to cover the remaining cost of the land, and help us start to restore it for wildlife.
We are very grateful to have received financial support from two generous donors and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation who through short term loans have enabled us to purchase the land in advance of receiving the payment from Natural England.
How is Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation scheme delivered in Norfolk?
Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s new land at Foxley Wood and Wood Norton has been secured for nature conservation through a legal agreement with Natural England. This agreement both protected the land and enabled Natural England to generate nutrient‑mitigation credits arising from NWT’s habitat restoration work.
To bring these credits to market, the right to allocate the mitigation has been purchased by Norfolk Environmental Credits (NEC) — a not‑for‑profit company established to manage nutrient‑mitigation supply for developers in the region. NEC’s role ensures that high‑quality, locally generated mitigation is available to support housing delivery in Norfolk.
The Norfolk Nutrient Mitigation Fund played the decisive enabling role by providing NEC with a loan facility. This financial support ensured the credits could be made available immediately to developers, helping to unblock stalled housing sites while securing significant environmental benefits. As developers buy nutrient credits, NEC will repay the loan, allowing the Fund to be recycled and used again to support further nature recovery and mitigation projects across Norfolk. This creates a sustainable, locally controlled funding loop that continually reinvests in the county’s natural environment.