December 12, 2024
Celebrating the launch of Allwood Farm Habitat Bank
Last Friday, Green Earth Developments Group (GEDG) had the pleasure of hosting senior members of the natural capital teams from Natural England, GMCA and Wigan Council at their HQ at Astley House.
Guests included GM Mayor Andy Burnham, NE’s Chair and CEO, Tony Juniper and Marian Spain along with Ward Councillor Barry Taylor and over 20 officers from the organisations.
The launch of Allwood Farm Habitat Bank, being the first habitat bank in Greater Manchester to be delivered via a S.106 Agreement between Wigan Council and GEDG coincided with the call for comments on the draft Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for Greater Manchester. All parties agreed on the urgency of halting nature’s decline, being that the UK is now one of the most nature depleted countries in Western Europe and that if the Combined Authority is to deliver Places for Everyone (the long-term plan to deliver jobs, housing and sustainable growth), then protection and enhancement nature must be prioritised.
Allwood Farm Habitat Bank is the first part of an ambitious plan by GEDG to create a c.800 acre nature recovery corridor in Astley including 2 former landfills which are currently undergoing restoration works. Habitat Banks are biodiversity rich areas of land, which allow nature to thrive. By upgrading the biodiversity, tradeable units are created which can then be used to offset harm caused by developments elsewhere ensuring an overall biodiversity net gain. GEDG is one of the UK’s largest developers and managers of habitat banks spread across a number of regional areas.
Green Earth Developments Group launches Habitat Bank
The Allwood Farm project, created in partnership with local landowner Allan Grundy, will deliver quality habitat units for offsetting in Wigan and wider within GM. The scheme has been designed by GEDG and their partner ecological experts Middlemarch Environmental (owned by the Wildlife Trust) and includes wildflower meadows, areas of native scrub, new hedgerows, ponds and trees. Works are programmed to commence in January 2025.GEDG worked in partnership with Wigan Council and Greater Manchester Ecological Unit to secure the necessary consents and agreements for the registration of the site on the Natural England register which means that all habitat unit trades are legitimate. GEDG’s mission of Re-building nature and re-powering communities is visible on the ground at Astley with landscape scale nature improvement plans, renewable energy generation at the adjacent Whitehead site and a strong community group working alongside the company, chaired by Cllr Barry Taylor.
Simon Towers, Co-Chairman for Green Earth, said:
As one of the UK’s leading Habitat Bank developers, we are excited to bring the Allwood Habitat Bank forward in GM as the first part of a larger Nature Improvement Corridor in the region.
“Our mission to re-build nature and re-power communities is visible on the ground here in Wigan with plans to restore close to 350 hectares of land under our control for nature and renewable energy.”
GEDG has developed close links with the local community and through its ‘Access to Nature Initiative’ has created partnerships with schools and local residents supporting health and mental wellbeing benefits for all.
GEDG and their nature partners Middlemarch Environmental (a Wildlife Trust owned company) have successfully developed the UK’s only ‘open mosaic habitat re-creation’ which is essential for offsetting development of brownfield land in Greater Manchester and the wider country.
