Nature reserve on housing development wins biodiversity award

This week we heard that a habitat enhancing residential development has been recognised for leaving a lasting legacy for future generations after it won a biodiversity award.

We’ve shared several recent Advantage Home Construction Insurance blogs about how eco-friendly plans are being embraced by planners and developers alike this year, most recently writing about how green developments could avoid planning red tape.

This week we heard that a habitat enhancing residential development has been recognised for leaving a lasting legacy for future generations after it won a biodiversity award.

As reported by the Leader: Heritage Park, in Penymynydd, has won the small-scale project of the year award at this year’s CIRIA’s Biodiversity BIGChallenge Awards.

The Redrow development was found to be occupying an area with rich potential for wildlife and biodiversity habitats.

It was not a planning requirement to incorporate a Nature Reserve or educational initiatives into the development, but Redrow saw this as an opportunity to engage with the local community whilst also supporting the declining Great Crested Newt population. In the summer of 2018, all the partners involved in the project were invited to the unveiling of a community information board at the reserve, helping better inform residents and visitors of the increasing abundance of wildlife and biodiversity on site.

Ecological surveys taken at the start of 55-home development and overseen by The Environment Partnership (TEP) detected mud snails, ground nesting birds and great crested newts on site, and badgers and bats close by.

It was from here, that the White Lion Nature Reserve was born.

Connecting to the development, and in partnership with the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) Trust, the reserve provides tranquil walkways, six man-made ponds, wildflower meadows and hedgerows.

Paul Sinclair, technical director at Redrow Homes North West, said:

“Heritage Park was shaped by the natural environment that it was part of. Redrow carefully cultivated the development not only to help preserve but to encourage wildlife habitats to flourish.

“It’s a place where guided walks, species surveys and pond dipping sessions, delivered by the ARC Trust, are now a popular feature within this community setting and since its launch in 2016, records have shown that the great crested newt population has increased six-fold.”

Thank you for reading. For more construction-related blogs, please pay a visit to our news page.

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