Credit Purchase Agreement

Norfolk Environmental Credits Limited ('the Purchaser') is a collaboration between Breckland Council, Broadland District Council, North Norfolk Council and South Norfolk Council. Wendling Beck OPCO LLP ('the Supplier') operates an environment project that provides an opportunity to offset increased phosphate and nitrate loading. The Supplier and the local planning authority entered into a section 106 agreement dated 28 November 2024 (the 'S106 Agreement') which seeks to regulate the use of certain mitigation land at Wendling Beck, Gressenhall, Norfolk (as defined in the S106 Agreement as the 'Mitigation Land') so as to reduce the discharge of nitrogen and phosphorous from such mitigation land so that the reduction can be used to offset the effect of nutrients from new development which would affect designated habitats sites. The S106 Agreement requires for the temporary nutrient neutrality credits to be generated in a specific geographical catchment area to apply to the new developments. In securing the services for the generation, establishment and sale of nutrient mitigation credits, the Purchaser has entered into an agreement with the Supplier in which the Purchaser acts as the Supplier's agent for the sale of temporary Phosphorous and Nitrogen credits. At the time of the contract award, the Supplier is the only company which has demonstrated it is able to provide within an appropriate timescale a tradable nutrient benefit (Phosphorus and Nitrogen measured in kg/yr) in a specific area of the European protected sites as required by the legal framework and in which the Purchaser is seeking to secure the nutrient mitigation. Accordingly, after due consideration, the Purchaser has decided to make a direct award to the Supplier pursuant to Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 on the grounds that competition is absent for technical reasons.