A habitat bank aiming to increase biodiversity and reduce river pollution has been created in south Oxfordshire.
It is the first of its kind in the district and received support from South Oxfordshire District Council.
The council worked with the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment and a local landowner to transform 16.5 acres of intensively farmed land off Windmill Lane, Towersey.
The area will become a mix of grassland, scrub, and woodland habitats, providing a sanctuary for wildlife including pollinators, water voles, curlews, and barn owls.
The habitat bank will also provide the landowner with a stable income through biodiversity net gain - where developers buy biodiversity 'credits' from habitat banks to offset building works.
This will make the rest of the landowner's farm business more resilient in the face of climate change.
The landowner first heard about biodiversity net gain at a farm innovation show in 2022.
They said: "Turning some land over to biodiversity net gain helps the environment and creates a steady income that is not as dependent on weather conditions and price fluctuations, which have affected the farm business recently.
"High input prices (from fertiliser, pesticides, and machinery costs) and low grain prices have made farming very volatile in recent years and things needed to change.
“The farm has tried to become more regenerative recently by incorporating livestock within the arable rotation to reduce its need for inorganic fertilisers and chemicals.
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