Provision of legal advice for Reviving Exmoor's Heartlands Landscape Recovery Project

Reviving Exmoor's Heartlands is part of Defra's Landscape Recovery scheme, aiming to support long-term, large-scale restoration of England's most precious habitats. The Reviving Exmoor's Heartlands (REH) project is a round 2 Landscape Recovery project that has been approved for a two year development phase, which started in April 2024.

The project aims to restore Exmoor's central moorlands to a thriving ecological state with good habitat connectivity to the wider landscape, supported by viable farming. The project area spans approximately 12,000 hectares made up of a cluster of over 20 upland farms and moorland landholdings including large areas of common land, supporting mainly extensive beef and sheep enterprises.

The provision of this contract is for:

Advise on Legal Structure and Governance

• Evaluate and compare options for suitable legal entity structures aligned with the project goals (e.g. CIC, CIO, LLP, BenCom).
• Present clear and actionable advice to the project steering group and participants via an evening workshop to make a final decision on the legal form and governance arrangements.
• Draft a fit-for-purpose governance structure and plan for the selected SLE model compliant with HM Treasury's Managing Public Money principles.

Draft and Review Legal Agreements

• Draft and advise on:
• Agreements between the SLE and land managers/commoners associations.
• Implementation agreement with Natural England.
• Contracts with private investors and partners.
• Identify and evaluate legal tools to safeguard environmental outcomes (e.g. conservation covenants, land trusts).
• Ensure agreements:
• Provide long-term environmental and legal security.
• Address enforcement, flexibility, and succession planning for land ownership.

Conduct Land & Title Due Diligence

• Review land ownership titles for risks, rights, or restrictions.
• Complete due diligence letters to be submitted to Natural England before contract signing.
• Identify and propose resolutions for any legal impediments to delivery.

Statutory Consents and Risk Management

• Identify required statutory consents, permits, or licenses.
• Highlight legal risks and develop mitigation strategies.