Accelar Limited
Grants interested in applying for:
Lowland Peat Water Discovery Grant, Lowland Peat Water Implementation Grant
Region:
West Midlands
Areas of expertise
Farmer engagement/ knowledge exchange, Landscape scale planning (aligned with Defra's Landscape Recovery), Peatland restoration, Policy/ regulation/ advisory services, Private finance
Resources available
Staff time/ research capacity
Engagement interests
Accelar is looking to collaborate as a strategic delivery and commercial partner, in particular with a focus on assessing and planning for environmental and business risks and opportunities, and with opportunities for long term funding & maintenance and private finance potential.
As a project partner in this area, Accelar will work alongside the wider consortium to strengthen the commercial, delivery and long‑term viability of the proposed implementation plan.
Specifically, Accelar would support the project by:
- Contributing to the assessment of operational and financial risks associated with proposed changes to water management, infrastructure requirements and future land uses, drawing on experience across peatland, wetland and landscape‑scale nature recovery projects.
- Exploring long‑term funding and maintenance approaches, including public, private and blended finance options, and how these could be aligned with emerging income streams (e.g. carbon sequestration, water quality, flood risk reduction or biodiversity‑related outcomes).
- Working collaboratively with delivery partners, land managers and stakeholders to ensure that financial and governance considerations are embedded early within the implementation plan, supporting progression to future implementation funding or alternative delivery routes.
Additional information
Accelar has experience supporting landscape‑scale environmental programmes across the UK where water management, soil condition and long‑term land use change are central to delivery. A consistent feature of this work is helping partnerships move from early‑stage planning to commercially credible, delivery‑ready outcomes, particularly where long‑term funding, maintenance and risk management must be addressed from the outset.
Accelar has supported projects across a range of peat‑influenced and water‑dependent landscapes, including Humberhead Levels, Morridge Hill, Wyescapes, West Norfolk, and West Pennine Moors. These projects present complex delivery environments involving multiple landholdings, long management horizons, hydrological change and interlinked climate, biodiversity and water outcomes. Across these contexts, Accelar’s contribution has focused on understanding delivery risks and opportunities, stewardship requirements and how environmental ambition can be supported by realistic funding and governance models.
Accelar has particular strength in supporting commercial readiness and long‑term funding, most notably through work across multiple Landscape Recovery projects. This includes helping partnerships:
· develop funding and delivery strategies capable of sustaining outcomes beyond initial public funding,
· consider whole‑life costs, management responsibilities and delivery dependencies,
· explore blended funding approaches, including the role of private finance where appropriate and aligned with project objectives, and
· design governance and delivery arrangements that are credible, transparent and workable for land managers and delivery partners.
This experience is directly relevant to Discovery Grant objectives around options for long‑term funding and maintenance, and to the EA’s commercial assessment criteria, including value for money, risk reduction and progression to future implementation.
From a technical and commercial perspective, Accelar brings structured approaches to:
· assessment and planning for operational and financial risks, particularly where changes to water management or land use are proposed;
· options appraisal, integrating environmental outcomes, delivery feasibility, financial modelling, costs and future management considerations; and
· early‑stage planning for long‑term funding and stewardship, ensuring implementation plans are financially realistic and positioned for progression.
These capabilities are designed to complement specialist technical activities such as surveying, hydrological modelling and design, rather than duplicate them. Accelar’s role is to ensure that the outputs of technical work are embedded within a delivery model that is feasible, fundable and robust over the long term.
Accelar would participate as a project partner, not the project lead. Accelar does not provide trial sites, physical infrastructure or specialist field equipment. Instead, it contributes by strengthening the commercial, financial and governance elements of implementation planning, helping to align environmental ambition with delivery capacity and funding realities.
Published Case Studies of our work:
· River restoration: Wyescapes
· Lowland agricultural peat: Humberhead Levels
Accelar has experience supporting collaborative working with delivery partners and land managers through structured discussions and workshops focused on delivery pathways, risk and long‑term funding. For example, by directly engaging landowners and farmers on what engaging in nature markets and landscape restoration could mean for them, and how it could impact their farm businesses in the future. This approach supports effective partnership working, clear decision‑making and the development of implementation plans that demonstrate strong commercial readiness, value for money and a clear route to delivery beyond the Discovery Grant period.