Overview
Our teams helped a main contractor and housing association secure planning permission for a new 58 plot development, with a mixture of shared ownership, rent to buy and social rent.
Cura Terrae Land and Nature supported Hoober Urban Partnerships and Yorkshire Housing in their planning application for a semi-rural housing development in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Working across many of our environmental disciplines, we ensured that the planned development complies with relevant legislation, including 10% Biodiversity Net Gain, and has a landscape design that will deliver for both residents and wildlife.
We planned to ensure that the site remains environmentally healthy during the construction phase and well into the future, while the public open space at the heart of the development centres the community. Our multidisciplinary support assisted in the project being granted planning permission by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
The client
Hoober Urban Partnerships is a rapidly-growing main contractor, delivering high quality and affordable housing schemes across the Yorkshire region. Hoober Urban Partnerships work alongside major housing associations including Yorkshire Housing, the largest Yorkshire-based housing association. They’re building 8,000 new affordable and sustainable homes across the county in the coming years, helping to address the housing crisis. Their mission is to create places that people are proud to call home.
The challenge
Hoober Urban Partnerships and Yorkshire Housing are planning a development comprising 58 dwellings in the village of Holme-Upon-Spalding-Moor in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The project will provide valuable affordable housing for the area.
It is critical that new developments comply with all relevant wildlife legislation, both to secure planning permission and avoid negative impacts on the environment, which is shared by local wildlife and the community. The site in Holme-Upon-Spalding-Moor includes various habitats such as cropland, grassland, hedgerows, reedbeds and a ditch which could support species protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) or the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (as amended).
As of February 2024, new developments must also deliver a 10% net gain in site biodiversity, referred to as Biodiversity Net Gain or BNG. It’s important that the site has long-term ecological value and that negative impacts during the initial construction phase are minimised, too.
Finally, the development needs to sit comfortably within the surrounding semi-rural landscape, engender a sense of identity, and be an attractive place to live for the future residents.
The solution
Our Ecology, Arboriculture, and Landscape teams provided a suite of services to address these challenges and ensure Hoober Urban Partnerships and Yorkshire Housing could submit a strong and considered planning application.
The team began by undertaking a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal to establish the site’s baseline ecological condition. This included an assessment of the habitat types present and their potential to be home to protected or notable species. The ditch on site was suitable habitat for water voles, a protected species, and so further surveying was conducted in accordance with best practice guidelines. No evidence of water voles was found and thus work was able to proceed without special measures to comply with protected species legislation.
The team also completed a Biodiversity Net Gain Assessment so that the required 10% increase in biodiversity could be planned and demonstrated. Measures to enhance biodiversity were devised in-tandem with the Landscape strategy. For example, nectar-rich and berrying varieties were chosen for the site’s trees, hedging, shrubs and groundcover planting by the Landscape team, ensuring food and shelter for insects and birds. Along the site’s boundaries, native species – ideal for local wildlife – will be used and our team identified hedgerows to be retained to provide mature vegetation. This careful attention to site boundaries will ensure links across the landscape for wildlife and help to knit the site into its surroundings.
Planting decisions also include varieties that will provide seasonal and sensory interest – such as appealing colours and textures – to residents and visitors. The Landscape team considered views from the properties and included measures to reduce the visual impact of parked cars, all contributing to making the development an attractive place to live.
A public open space at the heart of the plan is a key feature of the development and has been designed to include a play area made from natural materials, an open grass space for games or other activities, signage, and an attenuation basin that forms part of a wider Sustainable Drainage Strategy. This public area will allow residents to come together and promote a sense of collective identity and pride.
To ensure that the environment is not adversely impacted during construction, we developed a Construction Environmental Management Plan to identify potential issues and detail how they will be mitigated and monitored. A Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan was also developed so that the site remains ecologically healthy in the future for residents and wildlife alike.
Hoober Urban Partnerships and Yorkshire Housing were also assisted by LOROC Architects and Dart Engineers Ltd.
Client benefits
- Confidence in compliance with legislation – we undertook ecological surveys and assessments in line with statutory requirements, ensuring due diligence was documented.
- Comprehensive ecological services enabled early identification and resolution of potential ecological issues, facilitating a smoother and more predictable project timeline for the client. Our package also provided robust information to include in the planning application, reducing the risk of delays or refusals due to ecological concerns.
- With Landscape, Ecology, and Arboriculture all in-house, our proposals were fully coordinated, with clear and joined-up information delivery, and a holistic approach.
- The Biodiversity Net Gain Assessment and Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan will empirically enhance the site’s ecological value, aligning with national and local development policy, as well as contributing to better quality of life for future residents.
Client testimonial
Securing planning permission for a development of this scale depends on getting the ecological detail right first time. Cura Terrae’s Ecology, Arboriculture, and Landscape teams worked together from the outset, so the Biodiversity Net Gain assessment, the water vole surveys, and the landscape strategy all supported one another rather than being handled in isolation. That joined-up approach gave us a strong, well-evidenced application and prevented avoidable delays. The result will be a scheme we’re proud of, that gives our partner well thought-out green space at its heart.
Hoober Urban Partnerships Ltd
