ALCESTER landowners are being asked to take part in a new pilot scheme to help offset the impact of development in Warwickshire, by rebalancing local biodiversity.

The scheme is being undertaken by Warwickshire County Council in partnership with the Environment Bank, and it’s working to mitigate the impact of developments on the environment by making changes on local land to reduce harm around sites likely to be granted planning permission.

The pilot differs from other existing conservation schemes in that landowners set their own costs for the changes they’re willing to make, such as the loss of income from the land.

Louise Martland, biodiversity offsetting project officer for the area said: “We can now properly assess unavoidable impacts from developments while offering full funding for conservation works undertaken by landowners to improve Warwickshire for wildlife. It’s a process which will benefit all parties, including the environment, something that has not been on offer for some time.

“We already have a range of providers registered across the area to take advantage of this opportunity and have had positive involvement from developers who see the benefit in such a system, along with support from local planning authorities who want to take this forward. We encourage developers to get in touch to discuss how this can help them as offsetting is being implemented by local planning authorities across our sub region.”

Environment Bank is looking to fund more landowners across the county to improve the wildlife value of their land through the scheme through anything from managing and restoring existing woodland and wetlands to creating new meadows and planting hedgerows.

For more information on biodiversity offsetting visit www.environmentbank.com or contact Ms Martland on 01926 412772 or at lmartland@environmentbank.com.