If you’ve got a scheme stuck in east Kent, this is the one to read. Stour Environmental Credits (SEC) — the not-for-profit company owned and overseen by Ashford Borough Council and Canterbury City Council — announced on 30 July 2026 that it has begun issuing nutrient credits for the Stour catchment. That gives developers in one of the country’s most prominent stalled catchments a locally run, council-backed route to demonstrate nutrient neutrality and get planning permissions over the line.
What’s actually on offer
SEC’s initial mitigation programme is expected to support the delivery of more than 1,500 new homes across the catchment. Credits are being released in tranches rather than all at once: the first release enables up to 30 dwellings to progress, with further releases to follow “on a regular basis” as existing mitigation schemes progress and new projects come forward. Credits are generated from verified local mitigation projects that reduce nutrient pollution in line with Natural England guidance, and the scheme sits alongside Kent County Council’s Stodmarsh Catchment Nutrient Mitigation Strategy.
Because SEC is a not-for-profit, the proceeds are recycled — into buying more mitigation, developing new schemes, and monitoring the existing mitigation in perpetuity. Pricing and a register-your-interest form are on the SEC website.
Why Stodmarsh matters
The Stodmarsh SAC/SPA/Ramsar near Canterbury is the protected site behind one of the largest nutrient neutrality blockages in England — advice that has held up thousands of homes across the Stour valley, taking in Canterbury, Ashford and neighbouring districts. And it’s a dual-nutrient catchment: schemes have to be neutral for both nitrogen and phosphorus, which means a compliant scheme needs a credit position for each, not just one headline number.
That’s worth dwelling on before you pick up the phone. A tranche of credits is only useful once you know what your scheme actually needs — and that starts with the nutrient budget: occupancy, water use, wastewater treatment works, land-use change, the lot. With credits being drip-fed in releases, schemes that arrive with a calculated budget and a clear credit requirement will be the ones best placed to secure an allocation early.
The bigger picture: local schemes still carry the load
The strategic fix for nutrient neutrality — the Nature Restoration Fund, with Natural England preparing Environmental Delivery Plans so developers can discharge nutrient obligations through a single levy payment — took its first legal steps in June. But the first EDPs are still being prepared, with each draft facing a 28-day public consultation before it can be approved; officials have indicated the first will launch by the end of 2026. Until an approved EDP covers your catchment, site-by-site neutrality remains the law, and locally led credit schemes like SEC are what’s actually keeping consents moving.
For assessors and consultants, that makes the current period a hybrid one: keep calculating budgets and securing mitigation under the existing rules, while watching where the first EDPs land — Natural England notified 23 planned EDPs back in December 2025, 16 of them for nutrients.
What to do about it
If you’re promoting a scheme in the Stour catchment: run the nutrient budget now, work out your nitrogen and phosphorus credit requirement, and register your interest with SEC early — the first release is small, and allocation will favour schemes that know their numbers. NutrientMonkey covers the Stodmarsh catchment, so you can get an instant first-pass budget for your site before committing to anything. Want the full calculation done properly, ready for validation? Send us the details and we’ll take it from there.
Sources: Stour Environmental Credits begin selling nutrient credits, Ashford Borough Council, 30 July 2026 · Stour Environmental Credits · Natural England will ‘launch’ first EDP by the end of year, Planning Resource