Our Commitment to Biodiversity and Sustainable Landscaping
Balancing the needs of nature with the needs of development has never been more important. Rather than destroy habitats, our goal is to deliver biodiversity improvements through habitat creation or enhancement.
Biodiversity plays a central role in all our residential garden projects. That means we are well placed to help clients meet the requirements of the Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) rules, which the government has put in place.
From April 1st 2024, developers building between one and nine properties must abide by the BNG rules, alongside the wider development community, which was subject to these requirements from earlier in 2024. The requirement covers residential and commercial development across England only.
Why Biodiversity Net Gain matters
Since the Industrial Revolution, the UK has lost around 50% of its natural biodiversity. The RSPB estimates that over 40 million birds have disappeared from UK skies since 1970.
Healthy biodiversity supports ecosystems, food production and environmental resilience. The Biodiversity Net Gain framework has been introduced to reverse this decline by ensuring new developments contribute positively rather than causing further loss.
What this means for private garden landscaping
Private garden projects that fall under permitted development rights are not currently required to meet formal BNG targets. However, many planning authorities now expect clear evidence of biodiversity consideration as part of the approval process.
We are increasingly seeing councils introduce biodiversity uplift targets of between 10% and 20% on new residential developments. Designing with biodiversity in mind from the outset helps avoid delays and strengthens planning submissions.
Our biodiversity-led landscaping approach includes:
Avoiding damage to high-value habitats such as woodland areas, ponds and established grassland
Minimising habitat loss during construction
Restoring damaged or degraded habitats on-site
Offsetting unavoidable habitat loss as close to the development location as possible
Our core methodology follows a clear principle of avoid, minimise and restore.
Our approach is to Avoid, Minimise and Restore
Our team includes experienced sustainability and biodiversity specialists. This allows us to design residential landscapes that align with Biodiversity Net Gain targets while also supporting planning applications with clear, professional ecological documentation where required.
Book your landscaping consultation
Contact PC Landscapes today to arrange a consultation and discuss your project requirements.
