Caddington Woods, on Chaul End, has been shortlisted for Project of the Year in the BIG Biodiversity Challenge.
Formed in 2014, the Challenge is dedicated to recognising biodiversity enhancement of construction sites and developments and is a prestigious accolade that housebuilders aspire to achieve.
Caddington Woods was originally a 6,500 space car park. After acquiring the land, the team set about creating a long-term strategy to improve the site’s natural assets, partnering with Central Bedfordshire Council and General Motors which had owned the land since the 1950s. Combining the desire to create an excellent place to live, with the aim of creating nature-rich spaces to benefit wildlife, measures were put in place to assure the development’s biodiversity value and improvement in condition.
Seeking further support from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and RSPB, the team has been committed to designing a green space and infrastructure for wildlife to be able to thrive and to enhance residents’ wellbeing. This includes retaining the existing woodland, with a management plan in place to improve its condition, introducing ‘bee-friendly hotels’ and ‘hedgehog highways’, and allowing new trees enough space to grow.
The development also features eight hectares of green public open space for residents and the local community to enjoy, including a play area. Having created new habitats for wildlife including species-rich grassland and native shrub planting, these measures ensure the project will achieve a 63% Biodiversity Net Gain and now serve as a blueprint for the team to replicate at other brownfield locations and future developments.
The Caddington community has also been involved throughout the scheme. Around 200 children from two local schools completed an art project to create mosaic tiles for the villages’ new community centre, which reflected local and nature-related themes including ‘wildlife’ and ‘woodland’. An expert from the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire also hosted a public talk on how to help hedgehogs at the development.
Commenting on the nomination, Suzanne Irons, Sales Director South Midlands, said: “We’re incredibly proud of the team at Caddington Woods and their commitment to creating a wildlife-friendly habitat that is also a fantastic place to call home for all walks of nature. We’re looking forward to celebrating this nomination with the residents and the team behind Caddington Woods, and attending the award ceremony later this month.”
Our biodiversity strategy, which was created in partnership with The Wildlife Trust, seeks to put the natural environment at the heart of our developments and the lives of the people who live there.
The strategy includes a net gain approach to biodiversity, ensuring every development has green space or landscaped communal areas where wildlife can flourish. Developments may feature green routes for walking and cycling, newly created orchards or meadows, and wetland areas like ponds and swales.
