Tees NN at Swinbank

Swinbank is a family farm at Neasham, near Darlington, on the broad, open plain

where the lower Tees meanders towards the sea. Nigel Swinbank has farmed all

his life, but his daughter Kate, a Harper Adams graduate, now runs it day to day.

The land has grown cereals and grass for years. Now 38 hectares rest until

2030, with no fertiliser and no manure.

Grass takes over. The Swinbanks cut it once a year, for hay, in late July or

August, and take the crop off the field. On two fields they sow a species-rich

grass and wildflower mix, and let it flower and seed before the cut, as in a

traditional hay meadow. Another carries a wild birdseed mix for farmland birds.

Farm nitrogen is one of the pressures on the Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast

Special Protection Area and Ramsar site. These fields stop about 570 kilograms

a year washing off the land, and developers in the Lower Tees catchment buy

that saving as nutrient credits.

Water companies are upgrading their wastewater treatment works, so

developers need more mitigation before 2030 than after. These temporary

credits cover the extra years and end with the scheme.

A Conservation Covenant with Fera Science Limited secures the scheme.