An expansive green and blue network will ensure that the natural environment is part of the community’s everyday life at Bratton Green, providing opportunities to meet and play, strengthening social connections and encouraging active travel, as well as providing landscape and ecological enhancements.
Green and blue network will ensure the natural environment is part of everyday life at Bratton Green - click to enlarge
Ecology
The site at Bratton Green is currently dominated by intensively farmed arable land, which is of low ecological value. The vast majority of habitats of higher ecological value, including woodland, hedgerows, broadleaved trees, tree lines and watercourses, will be retained as part of the proposals, buffered and incorporated into green infrastructure. These will be managed positively in the long term for biodiversity.
Along with formally managed amenity habitats, the establishment of additional new habitat is proposed to enhance biodiversity, including water features, wildflower and tussock forming grassland, native species scrub planting, new native species woodland planting, native broadleaved tree planting, new native species rich hedgerow planting, and much more, which will benefit biodiversity and be managed in the long term. As such, it is considered that the scheme will achieve at least a 10% net gain to biodiversity.
A full suite of protected species surveys has been undertaken in preparing the outline proposals for Bratton Green. Mitigation and/or compensation will be provided and has been designed within the scheme to enhance existing ecological corridors and create new ecological corridors, to ensure that the vast majority of protected faunal species identified can be retained within the site and that habitats will be appropriately managed in the long term.
Telford & Wrekin Forest Community
The emerging Local Plan Review for Telford & Wrekin sets out the vision for the Borough to become a Forest Community:
By 2040, Telford and Wrekin will be a Forest Community with an enhanced and protected natural environment that local residents can enjoy close to their doorstep.
The proposals for Bratton Green will contribute to this vision by placing connections with nature at the forefront of the design proposals, as well as through the retention of the vast majority of existing trees and the planting of hundreds of new trees, significantly increasing tree cover across the site.
Homes for Nature
Bloor Homes is a member of the Homes for Nature programme. This includes a commitment to see a bird-nesting brick or box installed for every new home built, as well as hedgehog highways as standard on every new development.
Net zero carbon ready homes
The new homes at Bratton Green will be built to Future Homes Standard, meaning a gas-free development with new homes incorporating air source heat pumps, PV cells, uprated insulation and EV charging infrastructure. This will deliver a neighbourhood of net zero carbon ready homes.
