House builders 'failing to deliver on nature pledges'

Sarah Postlethwaite says a designated nesting site for skylarks is unsuitable

A senior planning ecologist is raising concerns about whether developers building thousands of homes across the country are fulfilling their commitments to improving sites for nature and wildlife.

Sarah Postlethwaite works for a local authority and conducted her own detailed audit of new housing around East Leake, Nottinghamshire.

She says so far developers have not delivered on commitments made at the planning stage to create and maintain species-rich grassland, and install bird and bat boxes.

Housing developers have apologised and say they will follow up on her findings.

The study looked at new housing developments in East Leake

At the Skylarks estate on the outskirts of the village, David Wilson Homes has set aside a nesting site for their namesake.

The small area is fenced off and overgrown with some grasses reaching as high as the ecologist's shoulder. Inside the BBC sees a cat enjoying the sunshine.

"This is completely unsuitable for skylarks," says Ms Postlethwaite. "They need much shorter grass, no perches for predators.

"We've got footpaths with lots of disturbance and lots of residents' cats in here."

RSPB advice is that skylarks need wide open spaces and vegetation no longer than 50cm.

Elsewhere in East Leake new streets are named after wildlife or insects. Yet the ecologist's audit found what was supposed to be species-rich grassland had not been sown with the required seed or maintained.

Bird and bat boxes were missing. Some had been installed the wrong way round or in unsuitable places.

'Councils need experts'

This year the law changed to make it compulsory for all new housing to add to biodiversity. The East Leake estates were granted planning permission before the the law came into force.

In the King's Speech the new government promised to accelerate housebuilding and infrastructure while using "development to fund nature recovery".

Ms Postlethwaite says her concern is that currently many local authorities do not have the expertise or resources to hold developers to account.

"They need ecologists who can check whether what's being proposed is appropriate and feasible," she said.

"And then resources in the enforcement teams so that if things aren't created or managed as they should be, they can actually do something about it."

A Defra spokesperson said: “We will build the homes that Britain desperately needs while protecting the environment.

“That is why we are committed to make Biodiversity Net Gain work effectively and implement solutions to unlock the building of homes...without weakening environmental protections.

Our new towns and housing will have nature at their heart.”

What the housing developers say

Barratt Homes, which owns David Wilson Homes, say their mitigation schemes were approved by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, but admit the skylarks area should have been mown in the spring and say they will follow-up.

Persimmon Homes has also apologised. Bosses say they are auditing their site and will act swiftly to put things right.

Miller Homes says a number of outstanding ecology measures at East Leake are not yet finalised and these will be addressed before the development is completed.

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