How to help make new developments better for nature

First and foremost, development must be carefully sited to avoid impacts on our most important places for wildlife. But engaging with the planning system doesn’t just have to mean objecting to potentially harmful development proposals. With the right knowledge, there are lots of opportunities to encourage and inspire developers and decision-makers to build new homes and other developments that support wildlife as well as people. 

Practically any development can be designed to include nature friendly features without costing the earth. Here are some ideas from the very simple to the more ambitious. 

There are many ways that a development proposal can be designed to support nature. Check ‘live’ planning applications to see if the applicant has included any of the following in their schemes:  
 

• Retain existing natural features and incorporate them into the landscape design (eg mature hedges, trees and other semi-natural or established features). As well as providing habitats for wildlife, these natural features can help to reduce the risk of flooding and lower temperatures (eg urban cooling). Where there are planning policies for delivering net gain for biodiversity, there should be a greater chance of these features being retained (see links in the Find out more section for more information on net gain policies in England and Wales). 

• Use integral bird and bat bricks in the walls of buildings (an average of at least one brick per building) and attach bird nest boxes and bat boxes to buildings/trees. Bee bricks can also be included in boundary walls, in sheltered, sunny locations close to nectar-rich plants. 

The best time to encourage a developer to make a scheme more nature friendly is at the pre-application stage. Community consultations (usually carried out for larger developments) are a great opportunity to speak to the developer and their consultants and share your ideas.  

However, you can still influence a development proposal once the application has been submitted. Check the application documents to see if any nature friendly features have been included as part of the design. If they are missing, or you feel they are inadequate, let the Planning Officer know by submitting comments on how the proposal could be improved for nature. Refer to local and national planning policies for protecting and enhancing biodiversity to help support your case. 

If you are aware of any particularly important or less common species present in the area, either through local knowledge or the ecological assessment submitted with the planning application, you could suggest that the proposal provides certain plants and features that could benefit the specific needs of those species. For example, Swift and bat bricks or House Martin nesting cups can ensure that these species are supported within the new development.

Similarly, planting certain species can support butterflies and moths, such as Holly and Ivy which provide excellent foodplants for the Holly Blue butterfly (found throughout most of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and infrequently in Scotland). You can also ask for nectar-rich planting schemes that help pollinators move through a development.  

To make the biggest impact for nature, a planning design needs to provide these features throughout the development, not just in corners. Developers should be ambitious with their nature friendly features, not sparing. 

Green space, sometimes called ‘green infrastructure’, within a development can provide a haven for wildlife if well designed and managed. Online tools, such as Natural England’s Urban Greening Factor (UGF) can be used to help developers and planners evaluate the quality and quantity of green space proposed by a development. Although not widely adopted in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland, these regions do have their own initiatives and policies aimed at increasing urban green spaces. 

The UGF is not mandatory but many major, and increasingly smaller, cities are using it to assess the greenness of planning applications. Planning authorities are then refusing applications if they don’t meet the threshold point score set out in their local plans. The application of UGF should achieve most key asks listed above. You can ask your planning authority if they have applied the UGF to a given scheme or propose its adoption when commenting on a new local plan. Once in the local plan it then becomes mandatory for all planning applications.  

The UGF (and other similar initiatives in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), should run in parallel with any mandatory net gain requirements. In England, some aspects of the UGF can be used to contribute to a Biodiversity Net Gain score, making the two systems complementary. 

Remember to make sure that the planning application includes details of how the landscaping or wildlife features will be managed and maintained in the future. This will usually be mentioned in a landscape management plan or an ecological assessment.

Long term management is key to ensuring that the development will continue to benefit nature long after it has been built. Planning Officers should secure appropriate management and maintenance methods via conditions or planning obligations – you can help ensure this is carried out by raising this in your comments.  

For new housing developments, it is also important that information about the nature friendly features that form part of the development is communicated to new residents, so they understand what has been done and why. This will encourage residents to ensure these features are managed and retained for nature in the future and hopefully inspire others to do the same. You can raise this issue in your comments, and request that information for new residents forms a condition of any future planning approval.  

Yes! Even if you are objecting to a development, it is definitely worth suggesting how the proposal could be made more nature friendly in the event that the planning application is approved.

Including such suggestions as part of your objection letter will not undermine your principal objections to the case. If planning permission is granted, your suggestions could help to ensure that nature friendly features are provided, which will help support local biodiversity.  

Sustainable drainage systems – maximising the potential for people and wildlife (A guide for local authorities and developers)  

Biodiversity in new housing developments: creating wildlife-friendly communities 

Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework  

Biodiversity net gain (BNG): helping nature through planning (England only) 

Net Benefit for Biodiversity: Helping nature through planning (Wales only) 

Urban Greening for Biodiversity Net Gain – A Design Guide