Project Example: Little Jurston Farm, Wellington, Somerset

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HT Ecology prepared the Ecological Impact Assessment for a proposed residential development of 75 dwellings at Little Jurston Farm, Wellington, Somerset, on behalf of West of England Developments. Our assessment secured a Biodiversity Net Gain and demonstrated how issues relating nutrient neutrality and protected species constraints would be addressed. We established the ecological baseline through a full suite of field surveys, covering habitats, great crested newt, reptiles, badger, dormouse and bats. The surveys confirmed hazel dormice within the boundary hedgerows, a low population of grass snake, and a diverse foraging bat assemblage of at least eleven species. We then worked with the design team to shape a scheme that retained and protected the existing hedgerows, created wildflower grassland, native hedgerow and an attenuation basin, and provided dark wildlife corridors for bats and dormice.

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The completed assessment, carried out to CIEEM guidelines and BS 42020:2013, delivered a net gain of 14.85% in habitat units and 29.80% in hedgerow units, while securing legal compliance for protected species and enhancement through new habitat and bird, bat and dormouse boxes.

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