Buying Nutrient Credits

Current Position

Stour Environmental Credits (SEC) has entered into a contract with Norfolk Rivers Consortium to provide nutrient mitigation.

This contract is progressing well, and permanent credits for phosphorus and nitrogen are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2026.

Buying Credits

Applicants may register their interest in purchasing credits from SEC as soon as their planning application is validated.

Credits are only created when:

Mitigation is assessed through an Appropriate Assessment,
Legally secured (e.g. via Section 106),
Payment is made – which is due in full upon purchase of the Credits from SEC. We are unable to operate a deposit/reservation scheme or payment plan for credit purchases due to the way in which we are funded.

If a planning application is amended on the same site via a Section 73 application, any allocated credits can be transferred to the new permission without requiring buy-back or reapplication.

Credit Allocation

Credits will be allocated with regard to SEC’s credit allocation policy, which includes:

Prioritising developments which are ‘ready to go’ in terms of having no outstanding issues, which means:
- if the scheme needs a S106 that must be complete with the exception of any wording on nutrient neutrality
- if the schemes doesn’t need a S106, nutrient neutrality must be the only outstanding matter
Prioritising schemes with the greatest nutrient efficiency – for example prioritising a scheme delivering 10 homes, over a similar scheme delivering only 5 homes, when both schemes require the same number of credits.
Splitting credits between shareholders for use within their respective boroughs.
Allocating 60% of credits to schemes of 50 or fewer dwellings, with the remaining 40% for larger developments requiring top-up credits.
Giving additional consideration to projects that provide additional social value, such as regeneration initiatives.

Our allocation approach will evolve as demand changes and the development backlog decreases.

Pricing

To support developers in assessing viability and financial commitments, SEC publishes credit pricing transparently:

Permanent phosphorus: £3,500 +VAT per 0.1kg
Permanent nitrogen: £235 +VAT per 0.1kg
Note: 0.1kg equals one credit.

Credit Expiry

SEC works closely with local planning authorities to ensure credits are allocated to developers with a high likelihood of progressing, minimising the need for buy-back. See our Operational Process Flow Diagram [PDF, 72KB] for partnership working procedures.

Credits are allocated to a specific planning application and cannot otherwise be sold onwards or transferred to other schemes.

Credits will expire if the associated scheme is not implemented within the timeframe specified by the planning permission, and any potential buy-back of unused credits is at SEC’s discretion and subject to resale demand.

Registering your Interest

Developers can register their interest in purchasing credits using the link provided below.

Following registration, and as credits become available for sale, developers will be contacted in line with our credit allocation policy and be offered the opportunity to purchase credits.