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Biodiversity

Developers share experiences of successfully delivering biodiversity net gain

View of pond at Bolton Housing Scheme

How are homebuilders delivering biodiversity net gain while also delivering the homes people need? In this blog, Helen Nyul, Group Head of Biodiversity at Barratt Developments, Neil Beamsley, Group Head of Biodiversity at Bellway Homes and Louise Clarke, Group Head …

Nutrient mitigation scheme continues to unlock new homes and protect our waterways.

Photo of Seal Sands which is part of the Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast SPA and RAMSAR site

By Mike Burke, Director of Sustainable Development, Natural England. Government confirmed recently that the Nutrient Mitigation Scheme is still open for business. We hope this is welcome news for developers and Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) as it will provide the …

Further increase in English Hen Harrier numbers recorded in 2023

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Hen Harriers, Species recovery, Wildlife
Hen harrier chicks in their nest

By John Holmes, Strategy Director, Natural England. The Hen Harrier, an iconic bird of upland landscapes, is one of our rarest birds of prey. Driven to extinction in mainland Britain in the 19th century, since recolonising England in the 1960s …

Homes England plays an active role in delivering biodiversity net gain

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Development, Natural England
An Aerial view of a development site in progress. Lots of new houses are being built amongst greenery

In this blog, we explore what biodiversity net gain means to some of our stakeholders and how they overcome issues they encounter. Lisa Palframan – Senior Technical Manager with Homes England (HE) explains how HE are building experience in delivering …

A promising first year of the hen harrier conservation breeding programme and reintroduction

Close up shot of a female hen harrier bird

 A recap   In Autumn of 2022, ten captive  hen harriers were transported to the UK from a rescue centre  in France for Natural England’s conservation breeding programme (Hen harrier Reintroduction NE Blog). This forms an important step in the Southern …

Farming for Nature Recovery

Two Marden Farmers harvesting yellow rattle seed amongst the tall grasses. There are trees in the background.

Across the country, Natural England is working closely with farmers and landowners to deliver nature recovery at a landscape-scale - restoring and enhancing England’s wildlife-rich places. A fine example of this is within our Sussex and Kent team, where we …

Preparing the market for statutory biodiversity credits

A view overlooking Iford Biodiversity Project, one of the statutory biodiversity credit pilots

Biodiversity net gain (BNG) is a government strategy to develop land and contribute to the recovery of nature. As set out in part six of the Environment Act 2021, it is a way of making sure the habitat for wildlife …

Dartmoor: achieving a future with thriving agriculture and thriving nature

Sheep grazing on dartmoor - the landscape is brown and poor condition where the sheep have been overgrazing. there are 5 sheep white within the picture, hills rolling in the background.

By Dave Slater, NE Regional Director for the South West Since our previous blog reflecting on the condition of Dartmoor’s special habitats there has been a lot of public discourse on what should happen on Dartmoor’s sites of special scientific …