LPA: North Northamptonshire Council
NCA: 88 – Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Claylands & 89 – Northamptonshire Vales
High Distinctiveness
+0.93 HU – Lakes/Priority Ponds
+50.37 HU – Open Mosaic Habitat
+13.85 HU – Lowland Mixed Deciduous Woodland
+10.82 HedgeU – Species Rich Native Hedgerow w/ Trees
Medium Distinctiveness
+11.81 HU – Other Woodland-Broadleaved
+59.69 HU – Mixed Scrub
+9.69 HU – Other Neutral Grassland
Local Context
Polebrook Airfield Habitat Bank, located in Northamptonshire, is a flagship Biodiversity Net Gain project delivered by GEDG. The site has a rich and distinctive history, having operated as an RAF airfield during the Second World War and forming part of the UK’s wartime aviation and defence network. Once decommissioned, the land was left to regenerate naturally over several decades, allowing significant ecological value to emerge across the former airfield landscape.
Situated adjacent to the Ashton Wold SSSI, Polebrook Airfield occupies a strategically important position within the local ecological network. The site is fully owned by the Broadbent family, who have lived and worked on the land for over 50 years. Long‑standing custodians of the site, the family have managed it with sensitivity to its historic and wildlife heritage, supporting its designation asa Local Wildlife Site (LWS). The Broadbent family will continue as on‑site wardens, personally delivering the habitat management and monitoring required to secure long‑term biodiversity growth.
Habitat
The proposed habitat creation and enhancement at Polebrook Airfield will deliver a significant uplift in biodiversity through the long‑term restoration and management of a previously developed landscape.
The project focuses on enhancing existing habitats and creating new ecological features, including woodland, scrub, grassland, ponds and species‑rich hedgerows, to improve habitat quality and resilience across the site.
Together, these interventions will strengthen ecological connectivity, support a wide range of protected and priority species, and deliver measurable biodiversity gains across high and medium distinctiveness habitats.
Social Value
As with all our Habitat Banks, GEDG intends to create strong links with local schools and local interest groups who can visit the site on an organised basis and play a key role in the conservation activities.
GEDG’s approach to this site will provide buyers of units with additionality in terms of endangered and wider species monitoring, health and education opportunities. GEDG are retaining Middlemarch Environmental, owned by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, to monitor the habitat bank over the 30-year management period.
