Meppershall
This site is in the Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Claylands National Character Area and supplies units to developments across Midlands & Central. We own it freehold and protect it in perpetuity.
Exact location and grid reference shared on enquiry.
- Planning authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Developments supplied
- 30
- Tenure
- Owned freehold
- Protection
- In perpetuity
About the site
Bury Farm, south-west of Shefford near Meppershall: two cropland parcels with arable margins, grassland and a circular block of deciduous woodland, farmed for cereals until we bought it. Native hedgerows border the fields and the River Hit runs along the western boundary, where otters have been recorded. The Bedfordshire and Luton Biodiversity Opportunities Network runs through the site from north to south, and the river corridor links it to the wider landscape.
The arable land is becoming species-rich calcareous grassland, mixed scrub laid out with glades, rides and clearings, and a traditional orchard of nut and fruit trees over grassland. The wood is being managed for tree health, deadwood and native ground flora, native trees planted along the river, and the hedgerows given standard trees and more native species.
Managed under a habitat management and monitoring plan from the end of establishment, with condition surveyed by independent ecologists and reported to Central Bedfordshire Council.
Habitats at Meppershall
Availability changes as units are allocated, so tell us what you need and we’ll confirm.
- Neutral grassland
- Species-rich neutral grassland, the workhorse habitat for area-based units.
- Traditional orchard
- Priority habitat combining fruit trees, grassland and deadwood.
- Mixed scrub
- Structurally diverse scrub providing nesting, shelter and forage.
- Individual trees
- Standalone and veteran trees carrying their own unit value.
- Broadleaved woodland
- Native broadleaved woodland with a developing understorey.
Location
Neighbouring areas are in lighter green. The dot shows the general location.
Which developments this site can serve
No multiplier in the home area and a reduced one in adjacent areas.
Home area, no multiplier
- Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Claylands
Adjacent areas served
- Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge
- Chilterns
- Cotswolds
- East Anglian Chalk
- Kesteven Uplands
- Northamptonshire Vales
- Rockingham Forest
- The Fens
- Upper Thames Clay Vales
- Yardley-Whittlewood Ridge
Local planning authorities
- Central Bedfordshire
Neighbouring authorities
- Dacorum
- St Albans
- North Hertfordshire
- Luton
- South Cambridgeshire
- Huntingdonshire
- Bedford
- Milton Keynes
- Buckinghamshire
How this site is secured
What your authority will examine
Who owns the land, what binds it, and who is responsible if the habitat fails.
Here
We own the land freehold and a conservation covenant or planning obligation protects it permanently, with condition independently monitored throughout.
Who stands behind the obligation
- The land
- We own the land freehold, with no lease and no third-party landowner.
- The covenant
- A conservation covenant or planning obligation protecting each site in perpetuity, registered against the title.
- Responsible Body
- An independent Responsible Body or the local authority can step in if we ever fail to deliver.
- The endowment
- Long-term management is funded by an endowment set aside at allocation.
- Financial strength
- We have £56.5m of capital for land and habitat, and are rated Very Low Risk with an international credit score of A. That capital lets us buy land and create habitat before your programme needs it, and fund its management for the long term.
Check availability at Meppershall
Send us your metric and postcode and within a day we’ll confirm what is available here, any multiplier and the price.