Great Birchwood Holiday Park
Expansion of holiday park involving change of use of land for the siting of 26 static caravans
Client: Great Birchwood Leisure Village Ltd
Sector: Commercial
Size: 0.28 Hecters
Services :
- Mitigation schemes for amphibians Bats and nesting bird.
- Biodiversity Net Gain Assessment and associated mitigation and discharge of statutory BNG conditions (BGP and HMMP).
Solutions:
- Amphibian mitigation measures in place protecting amphibians and the client.
- Appropriate mitigation for bats and birds for the project.
- Maximise on site BNG mitigation through creation of appropriate habitats to reduce the offsetting required to meet the statutory 10% net gain required.
Great Birchwood Holiday Park is an expansion project involving the change of use of land for 26 static caravans. Project Ecology supported Great Birchwood Leisure Village Ltd with ecological consultancy to manage biodiversity requirements and support planning delivery.
The expansion required careful consideration of ecological constraints, including potential impacts on amphibians, bats and nesting birds, as well as invasive plant species. In addition, the development needed to meet Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements, ensuring measurable improvements to biodiversity while maintaining a viable site layout. Balancing environmental obligations with the commercial needs of a leisure development was key.
We undertook ecological assessments and developed mitigation strategies tailored to the site. This included a full BNG assessment, baseline habitat evaluation and metric calculations to inform biodiversity delivery. Our approach focused on integrating mitigation and habitat creation into the design, ensuring solutions were both compliant and practical.
The scheme achieved compliance with Biodiversity Net Gain requirements with no need of offsetting. On-site habitat creation was maximised to support biodiversity and maintain development viability. The result is a well-balanced scheme that supports both ecological improvement and commercial delivery.