top of page
David Baxter.jpg

Hello

I'm David Baxter, the Founder and Managing Director of David Baxter Environmental Ltd. I have been operating independently since 2023, on the back of 30 years' experience in the water, environment and land management sectors. I have held senior leadership roles in the Environment Agency, Wessex Water and two strategy consultancies.

My core belief is that we cannot rely on the public purse to restore our natural environment, nor can we expect land managers to change the way they operate without financial reward. 

​

To that end, my focus is to do work that promotes the goal of being "Naturally Commercial". It is possible to have a better environment and restored nature alongside sustainable growth and resilient farming.  Get in touch via our contact details, below, and let's see if we can achieve this aim together.

My Experience

Environmental Policy

Deputy Director of Integrated Water Planning at the Environment Agency for 20 Years, leading the implementation of major policy initiatives, including:

  • River Basin Management Planning & WFD

  • Catchment Sensitive Farming

  • Catchment-based Approach

  • Modernising Water Regulation

  • Water Industry National Environment Plan

​

Establishing, then leading, the Natural Capital consultancy arms of Indepen Ltd, Eunomia Research & Consulting and as a self-employed consultant. I delivered major policy appraisals that included:

  • The first integrated analysis of expenditure attributable to catchment management across England (£13 billion in 2015 prices)​

  • The creation of a Natural Capital strategy for the North Devon Biosphere

  • QA of national modelling to estimate environmental outcomes that could be achieved by measures to control diffuse water pollution from agriculture

  • Research and evaluation of Internal Drainage Board (IDB) attitudes towards water-level management policies for greenhouse gas emission control  in Lowland Peat

​

​

​​

​

​

Nature Markets

Director of Operations for EnTrade (a Wessex Water company) where we set up governance structures, market rules, contract templates, accreditation standards, monitoring strategies and template project designs for BNG and nutrient neutrality trading in:

  • Bristol Avon Catchment Market

  • Somerset Catchment Market

  • Solent Nutrient Market Pilot

 

​Delivery of Blended Finance Plans in six Defra Landscape Recovery Projects, covering expenditures over 20 years that would exceed £500m

 

​Expert adviser to Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust on formation of Green Investment in Greater Lincolnshire Ltd (GIGL), a BNG market for the whole of Greater Lincolnshire which has developed a supply pipeline across 20 farms,  improving biodiversity on >1,000Ha.

 

Working with land owners to deliver feasibility and commercial design services for portfolios of nature-based Solutions (NbS) covering over 10,000 Ha across the Fens, Hampshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Somerset, Wiltshire,  West Sussex. Projects assessed included:

  • Treatment wetlands

  • Wildflower meadow creation

  • Floodplain meadow restoration

  • Woodland creation

  • Land fallowing and cover cropping

  • Regenerative Ag options

  • Lowland peat restoration

​

Nutrient Neutrality

Assessment of nutrient mitigation strategies for:

  • Natural England

  • Broadland Council

  • Southern Water

  • Major housebuilders in Norfolk, Kent and Hampshire


Production of over 20 successfully adopted Nutrient Budgets and Mitigation Strategies covering development sizes ranging from 1 to 800 dwellings in:

  • The Broads

  • Hampshire Avon

  • Lindisfarne

  • River Mease

  • Solent

  • Somerset Levels and Moors

  • Stodmarsh

  • Tees

  • Wensum

  • Wye & Lugg

​​

Key approaches that were deployed to reduce mitigation budgets included:

  • Integration and performance assessment of onsite SUDS into the development

  • Detailed land use mapping

  • Research on occupancy data to justify use of <2.4 persons per dwelling default 

  • Advice on optimal Package Treatment Plant choice

  • Production of evidence to utile exemptions for Phosphorus impacts on small rural developments

 

bottom of page