A pocket of farmland near Gatwick Airport is serving as a blueprint for long-term environmental protection in Britain.
Aspect Nature Reserve, at Charlwood near Crawley, West Sussex, is being offered as a hands-on learning facility for school children while sections of the 24-acre plot are being sold as ‘biodiversity units’ to developers and other companies seeking to offset their environmental impacts.
“We’re rewilding this farmland with the dual purpose of, firstly, inspiring youngsters to fall in love with the natural environment, and secondly, serving as a legal mechanism to keep parts of Britain green for generations to come,” said Dr Piers Clark, who has been rewilding the site since acquiring it in 2024.
“We plan to use the proceeds of BNG (biodiversity net gain) units sold at Aspect Nature Reserve to acquire more land to use in the same way. In a few years who knows how much bigger our little green lung may have become.”
Clark’s company, Aspect Land Management, also owns Mount Wood, a 12-acre plot 400 metres from Aspect Nature Reserve. BNG units are being offered for sale at Mount Wood, too.
Chris Millward, co-founder of Team4Nature, conservation manager at Bibbey’s Wild Farms and Brum Biosphere project lead, said: “I am delighted to see this new approach to development being used to create a fabulous setting for children to connect with nature for their happiness, health and wellbeing.
“The fact Aspect Nature Reserve is looking to use the proceeds from the sale of BNG units to further expand this project is great news for nature and the local community. This level of commitment has the potential to make a significant contribution to the Nature Recovery Network in the long term, giving cause for great hope as Britain aims to bring back its wildlife from the brink.”
Aspect Nature Reserve has a small building with related teaching facilities for visiting groups. Sections of the site are being replanted back to natural woodland. Brash fences created using wild brambles have been erected to protect delicate saplings. Bird boxes have been put up to encourage nesting. Motion-activated cameras have been set up across the site to capture animals, including owls and badgers, going about their business including at night.
Under the terms of the contract, BNG units, or ‘habitat banks,’ being sold at Aspect will be managed as wild, green spaces for 30 years in the first instance under a process born out of the Environment Act 2021, which aims to deliver long-term protections for the natural environment.
