With a rapidly approaching deadline to secure funding for 26 new social housing dwellings being built on behalf of Wakefield District Housing near Sheffield city centre, Hoober Urban Partnerships needed to source local off-site Biodiversity Units to satisfy biodiversity net gain (BNG) planning conditions.
They reached out to Environment Bank for help, and Account Director, Sean Rooney, worked closely with Hoober Urban Partnerships (and Sheffield City Council Planning Department) to successfully provide a complete solution before their deadline.
Environment Bank supplied Hoober Urban Partnerships with Biodiversity Units from a BNG Habitat Bank located only a short distance away from the development site. At this Habitat Bank, they're working to restore the landscape to its historic state, enhancing the woodland and transforming existing fields into biodiverse meadows and scrubland.
By providing Biodiversity Units within the Sheffield City Council local planning authority (LPA) area, Environment Bank offered the most cost-effective option for the developer and helped to ensure that the associated benefits of biodiversity restoration remained local to the development.
With Units purchased, Hoober Urban Partnerships were able to discharge their BNG planning conditions and begin work on schedule. Environment Bank will undertake all responsibility for BNG monitoring and maintenance for the mandatory 30-year period, giving the developer a clean break.
Stacey Chappell, Head of Design & Technical at Hoober Urban Partnerships said: “Environment Bank provided us with a quotation promptly, set very tight timescales, and dealt with this effortlessly. We would recommend them to other developers in similar situations.”
