Honesty warning: most industrial parks are moribund places devoid of vitality, adorned with little more than a few non-native shrubs and a scattering of rodent traps. However, moving forward it seems there is an opportunity to improve on this somewhat low bar.
New rules for improving site biodiversity – biodiversity net gain (BNG) – are looming large. From late 2023 onwards, it will be a legal obligation for developers to consider the environmental impact of their development and ensure biodiversity is in a better state (net gain) than previously by a minimum of 10% as set out in the Environment Act 2021. Ecologists will measure the gain using a biodiversity metric tool. The Defra Biodiversity Metric 3.1 emerged in 2022. It is Natural England’s intention for this metric to become widespread over time.
So, how can developers prepare for BNG and ensure they demonstrate steps that either preserve, protect, mitigate or enhance any habitats found on site? According to Ecology by Design, an Oxford-based ecology consultancy, among the important steps are identifying the most appropriate stakeholders and partners, exploring all data source options, defining the exact benefits and net gains for biodiversity, and setting out the minimum amount of BNG possible. It is also important to establish that the BNG will correlate and complement biodiversity in the immediate neighbouring area.
BNG IN ACTION
As a relatively new term, examples of BNG in action are only just beginning to emerge, but among those able to demonstrate success is construction contractor Willmott Dixon. Construction manager Harry Noakes, pictured below, discusses the opportunity for BNG through a project involving the construction of a multi-storey car park for Prime Plc at Dorset County Hospital. “It started with us evaluating the biodiversity baseline before development, using a calculation methodology created by Defra,” he explains. “We then worked with an ecologist, who created landscaping and planting designs to maximise biodiversity.”
These measures included replacing an area of single-species low-growing shrubs with plants and wildflowers that will provide forage for a variety of pollinating insects. Among further initiatives was a 2m-wide ‘wildlife corridor’ around the perimeter of the car park planted with hedgerows and wildflowers. The team also installed bird boxes, hedgehog nesting boxes and a log pile to provide a habitat for wildlife.
“The actions will help us to deliver 11.74% BNG,” says Noakes. “We’re also in discussions with the council about further tree and wildflower planting off-site, meaning local residents can enjoy new green spaces and those all-important wellbeing benefits.”
He continues: “This was my first experience in making biodiversity a priority on our projects, and I’ve learnt a lot. It’s made me think differently about landscape design. Our ambition to deliver maximum benefit means thinking about what’s important for the flora and fauna, not what’s traditionally aesthetically pleasing. As this becomes a priority across more developments, it could lead to positive change – we might start creating buildings that work around nature.”
RESTORE HABITAT
Another notable project success is the new East-West Rail Connection by Network Rail and the East-West Rail Alliance, which has seen the planting of more than 150,000 trees to date across 100 hectares in a pledge to restore habitats and help tackle climate change during the building of new railway line between Cambridge and Oxford (pictured, right). Species relocated and protected include otters, badgers, bats, butterflies, reptiles and amphibians on the way to a planned 10% BNG.
Elsewhere, a report looking at the predicted environmental impact of Highways England’s A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon trunk road suggests that the improvement scheme, which opened to drivers in May 2020, will deliver 11.5% BNG. Across the length of the scheme, more than a square mile of new habitat was created for wildlife, including the landscaping of roadside verges and transformation of borrow pits into a mixture of woodland, grassland, wetland and open water habitat. The team also planted 860,000 trees, put up 360 bat boxes, 90 small-bird boxes, 24 swift boxes, 22 barn owl boxes and 24 kestrel boxes, while also creating 24 wildlife tunnels under the road to allow safe crossing.
Of course, BNG is by no means a perfect process, but from the perspective of Wildwood Ecology, a Gloucestershire-based specialist in ecological surveys, if there is a requirement to achieve BNG it means that habitats which developers may not otherwise retain or create, are included in the overall site design from the outset.
As ecologists, Wildwood says it understands some of the pitfalls of the BNG metric, and will always try to be pragmatic when it comes to making a written assessment on the biodiversity impact of the site. Sometimes, the only way to reach 10% is to remove a perfectly good habitat and create a higher-scoring one in its place and, realistically, this may cause more disruption to the site and displace species that the habitat currently supports. Put simply, with the new rules fast approaching, if 10% is not deliverable on-site, it will need to be achieved using off-site enhancement as part of an offsetting agenda.
BOX: Leaving nature to posterity
Individual companies also have a part to play in preserving the environment. Following the company’s basic vision of “leaving nature and resources to posterity”, FANUC, a global manufacturer of robots, machine tools and CNC systems, is striving to maintain biodiversity by preserving the natural environment of the 1.78 million m2 in which its headquarters is located, adjacent to the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park in Japan. The area is home to native forests and artificially-planted trees. The company is striving to create a forest that is more abundant than the designated ‘greening rate’ for the area.
When constructing factories and other buildings, FANUC selects locations with as few trees as possible, to minimise deforestation, while ensuring that the height of buildings does not exceed that of the surrounding trees. Since car parks require large areas of flat land, any new car parks completed by FANUC since 2016 have been multi-level facilities, preserving 65,300 m2 of green space.
Demand for timber during wartime and the subsequent period of rapid economic growth in Japan encouraged the planting of conifers, including in parts of FANUC’s headquarters. Now, the company’s policy is to convert these existing planted coniferous forests into a broadleaf forest featuring mixed species and native trees, which are better suited to the area as they bear fruit and drop leaves to support more birds and animals. The existing coniferous forest is so dense that it makes it difficult for the sun’s rays to reach the forest floor. To prevent soil degradation and maintain the forest’s abundance, FANUC plans to thin the trees.
FANUC’s site also has eight regulated ponds of various sizes that serve as temporary rainwater storage. Within these ponds, the company plants and protects common reeds and other species to purify the water and create a habitat for animal life.