On behalf of Shiplake Meadows Limited, leading property developer Gailliard Homes required a suitable habitat restoration solution to secure planning permission for a community-orientated retirement village near Reading.
Covering a six-acre space, the site features 65 new two- and three-bedroom homes alongside dedicated health care services and wellness facilities.
The team behind the project carefully balanced the accessibility and mobility needs of residents with the natural features of the surrounding landscape. In design, the new village not only reflects local architectural character, but also retains key habitats such as a stunning orchard.
But by choosing to restore some habitats off-site and achieve Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) by purchasing Biodiversity Units from Environment Bank, green spaces at the new village could instead be tailored to the needs of residents – with beautiful features like landscaped gardens and vegetable patches.
Within a couple of weeks, Environment Bank had successfully provided suitable Biodiversity Units to discharge the conditions of Shiplake Meadows’ planning appeal, enabling on-site work to commence in due course.
BNG will be delivered for the next thirty years by Environment Bank via off-site grassland Biodiversity Units from its Emberton Habitat Bank located within the development project’s adjacent National Character Area (NCA).
This Habitat Bank will be carefully monitored and maintained by Environment Bank’s qualified ecologists for the next three decades to satisfy BNG policy, giving Shiplake Meadows a clean break.
