Finding East Riding land that can host solar, battery storage or a habitat bank
Novum Vetus scores every land parcel over 2 hectares in the East Riding against grid capacity, flood risk, farmland grade and protected sites, and shows the reasoning behind each score. I work alongside independent land agents and introduce suitable sites to developers.
Base score 50
- +20Substation within 2 km (1.4 km)
- +10Good size for a local-grid scheme (34 ha, roughly 17 MW)
- +10Substation reports generation headroom
- −512% of the parcel in flood zone 3
- checkGrade 3 farmland: survey needed to split 3a from 3b
Illustrative example. Not a real site.
Every score comes with its reasons
The screening is rules-based mapping, not AI. Each parcel starts from a base score for each route. Plain-English rules add or take away points, and a blocker, such as overlapping a protected nature site, rules a route out entirely.
Because every rule that fired is listed on the scorecard, you can check any score line by line and disagree with it where local knowledge says otherwise.
Three routes are scored today: solar, battery storage and biodiversity net gain (BNG) habitat banks.
- Land parcelsHM Land Registry title outlines
- GridNorthern Powergrid substations and reported headroom
- Flood riskEnvironment Agency flood zones 2 and 3
- Farmland gradeNatural England agricultural land classification
- Protected sitesSSSI, SAC, SPA, Ramsar, ancient woodland, nature reserves and National Landscapes
- Nearby projectsGovernment renewable energy planning database
What a score is not
- Not a valuation, a planning opinion or a grid connection offer.
- Substation distance is straight-line, not cable route, and headroom changes.
- Farmland grades are provisional; grade 3 land always needs a survey.
- Parcels are Land Registry titles, so one farm may be several parcels.
From the map to an introduction
Screen
The county is scored for each route, then filtered by size, distance to the grid and constraints to a shortlist worth a closer look.
Report
Each shortlisted site gets a one-page report: the scores, the rules behind them, the risks to check and rough income ranges.
Introduce
With the landowner's agreement, and through their own agent, the site is introduced to developers looking for that kind of land.
Who I work with
Land agents
You keep the client and the professional advice. I bring the screening and the legwork.
- Shortlists of client land with the strongest income routes
- One-page site reports to open a conversation with a client
- A second look when a developer approaches a client about their land
Developers
Sites in the East Riding screened against your criteria, with the working shown.
- Shortlists filtered by your size, grid and constraint requirements
- Reports that explain each score rather than just stating it
- Introductions made through the landowner's agent
Own land in the East Riding?
The best first step is a conversation with your land agent. If they would like your land screened, they can get in touch. If you don't have an agent, email me and I'll explain how the screening works and who could advise you.
How I work
- Landowners are always told about any fee connected to their land.
- Owner names never appear in reports, shortlists or site titles.
- Ownership is only looked up when there is a reason to, and is handled under UK GDPR.
- I work through independent land agents, not around them.
See the screening on your patch
A demo takes about 30 minutes, in person or on a video call. We'll look at parcels in the area you cover and go through how they score.