Halnaker Hill Farm helps unlock two new housing developments through provision of off-site biodiversity net gain units
Halnaker Hill Farm, a 330-acre land bank in West Sussex, has provided off-site BNG units to unlock two housing developments totalling 130 new homes.
The agreements with Stonebond Properties and Bloor Homes see 11 BNG units allocated from the registered habitat bank near Chichester.
Stonebond Properties is developing 90 much-needed affordable homes for The Guinness Partnership at Bartons Road, Havant, Hampshire. Halnaker Hill Farm has provided eight off-site BNG units to support the scheme.
A particular feature of the agreement was the solution developed to address the development's requirement to compensate for the loss of open mosaic habitat. This is a niche and relatively rare habitat type, with no suitable provision available in the region.
The second agreement is with Bloor Homes for its development of 40 new homes at Cooks Lane, Southbourne, West Sussex, including 12 affordable homes. Halnaker Hill Farm has supplied the developer with three off-site BNG units.
Greg Lukasiewicz, marketing director at Halnaker Hill Farm, said: “Delivering new homes and improving the natural environment need to go hand in hand.
“Our role is to help developers move forward with housing schemes while ensuring that the impact on biodiversity is addressed and the resulting environmental benefits are secured for the long term.
“These two projects demonstrate how carefully planned habitat creation and restoration can support development while leaving nature in a stronger position.”
The Halnaker Hill Farm project is returning formerly intensively farmed land to nature, creating more than 350 BNG units for sale.
