Project background
Lancaster City Council formally adopted its new Local Plan in July 2020, identifying South Lancaster as a ‘Broad Location for Growth’, including the creation of a new Garden Village. Bailrigg Garden Village will incorporate a wide range of housing, and support green and blue infrastructure, job creation and sustainable development in balance with the surrounding natural environment.
Scope of services
We used remote-sensed satellite mapping data, ground-truthed with targeted field surveys, to carry out a UKHab survey cost-effectively over the 720 hectare site.
- Our Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) for the garden village site and wider AAP area identified all the key habitats and likely protected species constraints, with a view to informing further survey work and more detailed design of the scheme Masterplan that will be required to support a planning application.
- We then undertook a further strategic assessment using the Defra Metric 3.1 to identify the opportunities for habitat enhancement and creation to deliver BNG across the whole AAP site.
- We proposed retaining and enhancing habitats where possible within the development parcels, combined with habitat creation and enhancement within the areas immediately adjacent to the proposed development parcels, and also identified the best locations for strategic large-scale habitat restoration across the wider AAP area to deliver the BNG offsetting requirements of the development.
Working closely with the client, both through meetings and targeted workshops, we were able to advise the client on how best to deliver Biodiversity Net Gain at a large-scale, strategic level, and to provide recommendations for further ecology survey work, impact assessment and mitigation measures.
Impact
RSK Wilding used its skill sets to deliver an ecological appraisal, constraints mapping, UK Habitat Classification (UKHab) survey, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) calculations and habitat restoration proposals, to inform effective, nature positive decision-making about the design and implementation of any future development within Lancaster City Council’s Area Action Plan (AAP). This AAP will guide and manage future growth in the South Lancaster area, including the evolution of the new Bailrigg Garden Village.