Forestry England's new Vernon Stockton Seed Facility in Delamere, Cheshire, is helping to create the climate-resilient forests the UK needs for the future.
Certified under a new UK scheme for measuring carbon stored in buildings through timber and other biogenic materials, the timber-framed, net zero building replaces Forestry England's long-standing Alice Holt seed processing facility, originally built in 1964.
Providing modern infrastructure capable of processing and storing up to four tonnes of high-quality tree seed annually, the facility plays a vital role in supporting Forestry England and the wider forestry sector with the resilient tree stock needed for future woodland creation projects. It is also the largest facility of its kind in the UK.
Delivered by Willmott Dixon with specialist timber contractor Buckland Timber, the building became the first project certified under Grown in Britain's new Biogenic Stored Carbon Quotient (BSCQ) scheme. The project achieved a verified stored carbon score of 614,030 kgCO₂e, providing independently certified evidence of the carbon stored within the timber and other biogenic materials used in the building.
Timber has a clear role to play in lower-carbon construction, but the amount of carbon it stores needs to be measured consistently.
BSCQ provides an independently verified and publicly registered measure of the carbon stored within timber and other biogenic materials used in buildings. By providing a robust, third-party certified figure alongside embodied carbon reporting, the scheme gives clients and stakeholders clearer evidence of the climate benefits delivered through material choices and responsible procurement.
As contributors to the development of the scheme, we brought practical insight from live project delivery to help create a framework that supports the Government's Timber in Construction Roadmap and gives customers greater confidence in assessing whole-life carbon impacts.
Timber used with purpose
The Forestry England project reflects our commitment to sourcing timber and timber products from legal, sustainable and well-managed sources.
