LPA: Bury Metropolitan Borough Council
NCA: Manchester Pennine Fringe
Habitat Units
Floodplain wetland mosaic & CFGM: 2.86 Hu (High)
Lowland mixed deciduous woodland: 13.37 Hu (High)
Other neutral grassland: 165.70 Hu (Medium)
Mixed scrub: 7.51 Hu (Medium)
Rural tree: 1.61 Hu (Medium)
Hedgerow Units
Species rich native hedgerow: 7.40 HedgeU (High)
Native hedgerow with trees: 3.36 HedgeU (High)
Species rich native hedgerow: 37.93 HedgeU (Medium)
Native hedgerow with trees: 2.04 HedgeU (Medium)
Line of tree: 0.56 HedgeU (Low)
Local Context
Walshaw Estate Habitat Bank (Phase 1), located within Bury Council is another exciting nature project for Green Earth Development Group (GEDG) and evidence of their commitment to BNG and regenerative land use.
This site comprises of a large area of pastoral farmland, which is split into several fields which have been used to graze livestock or as hay meadows. It is bordered to its North by a small stream (the Weir) and to the South by a series of man-made reservoirs. In addition to the established field and hedgerow network, the estate currently contains a small mature broadleaved woodland and several areas of ecological interesting marshy grassland.
Walshaw Estate is now set to be transformed into a thriving ecosystem providing significant environmental, educational and community benefits.
Habitat
The proposed habitat creation and enhancement at Walshaw Estate will deliver a broad uplift in biodiversity through the restoration and expansion of key habitats.
This includes the creation of floodplain wetlands, new woodland and scrub areas, and the enhancement of existing grassland, woodland, and hedgerows.
These interventions aim to improve habitat quality and connectivity across the site, supporting a diverse range of species and contributing to significant ecological gains across high and medium distinctiveness habitat types.
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.
