Upper Wharfedale NEIRF

Cumulus Consultants supported Kilnsey Park Estate and partners with a successful application to the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF) to explore how farms across Upper Wharfedale could benefit from emerging green finance opportunities while continuing to operate productive and resilient upland farming systems. We led the consultancy input to the Upper Wharfedale NEIRF project, working in association with LandApp. Other partners included Kilnsey Park Estate, Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, Farmer Network, WBW Surveyors and CreditNature. We undertook habitat baselining, opportunity mapping, ecosystem services valuation, scoping of private funding opportunities, and market analysis. The project concluded that green finance represents a real but evolving opportunity for Upper Wharfedale’s farms. The area is well placed to benefit as markets mature and strategic, landscape-scale investment models develop.