Solent Mapping and Modelling LUCT

The SOF project investment objectives underpinning the development of the pilot Solent trading platform are to develop a system that: 1. Enables housing developments to achieve nutrient neutrality quickly and cost effectively by delivering a pipeline of costed, off site, mitigation projects with known mitigation value, thereby: a. unblocking stalled housing (whilst avoiding harm to the protected sites) b. facilitating future housing development, including that already in the pipeline c. protecting and creating jobs linked to the above 2. Ensures no adverse impact on the current status of marine Natura 2000 sites protected under the Water Regulations 2017 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. 3. Simultaneously delivers wider benefits for the environment and society, in line with the Government's environmental objectives (e.g., natural flood risk management, climate change mitigation, biodiversity gains, nature recovery networks, increased access to nature) 4. Includes ongoing monitoring and evaluation, helping developers demonstrate the environmental benefits of their schemes and local authorities demonstrate the environmental benefits of growth 5. Is scalable and replicable in other parts of England (and potentially also places beyond) facing similar spatially specific challenges relating to water or air pollution impacts on internationally important protected sites. The intention is that developers will pay to offset any new nitrate input into the Solent - from sewage discharge from new housing and other development - by trading credits with farmers, who will in turn offer up land for long term habitat and woodland creation for a period of 80 to 120 years, thereby offsetting against nutrient losses from agricultural diffuse pollution.

Land which is deemed suitable for trade will have been identified through the use of the Land Use Choices Tool (LUCT) supplemented by a range of further data to be provided by the Trading platform operators, including detailed farm records and land record checks, for example. The LUCT will support effective targeting and evaluation of the proposed project sites and add confidence in the long-term viability of proposed sites - taking into account detailed surface water and ground water movement mapping throughout the catchment, constraints to long-term site choices and also climate change proofing. The LUCT may also be used to support prioritisation of trading sites, for example those offering greater overall environmental benefit or higher nutrient mitigation efficiency, particularly for locations which offer potential nitrogen sinks through woodland and wetland development. The LUCT is also likely to inform land eligibility considerations for land owners wishing to enter the trading scheme, for example based on the efficiency of the nutrient pollution reduction that the land can deliver and may also be used to define land "exclusion zones" where potential applicants may be refused.