Homes for Nature
Leading UK home builders commit to building Homes for Nature
The Homes for Nature commitment will see a bird-nesting brick or box installed for every new home built, as well as hedgehog highways as standard on every new development taken through planning from September 2024 for participating companies.
With 21 homebuilders, who build more than 90,000 homes a year, already signed up to the voluntary commitment, the move represents a major step towards providing the minimum of 300,000 nesting bricks and boxes thought to be required to support swift populations and many more bird species across the country.
In addition to integrated nest bricks, boxes and hedgehog highways, homebuilders are encouraged to incorporate additional features, such as bat roosts, insect bricks and hibernacula. Away from the home, nature-led sustainable urban drainage systems and pollinator-friendly landscaping help to make even more homes for nature on new developments.
More information
Homes for Nature was developed by the Hub’s On Site Nature Measures Working Group and is in addition to the Biodiversity Net Gain regulations.
The scheme will come into effect in September 2024 for all new planning applications. The initiative will run until at least 2030, with annual reporting to track progress and to identify further suitable measures that could be introduced to support other wildlife.
The On Site Nature Measures Working Group is now working with organisations such as the RSPB, Action for Swifts, Hedgehog Street, and the NHBC to develop the technical and customer guidance for installation of the nature measures across development sites.
The commitment currently applies to low-rise houses, with further work underway with industry to identify an appropriate nature positive approach for new apartments and high-rise buildings.
- Download the fact sheet about the Homes for Nature initiative
- Read the press release
- Read the blog from Jo Stott, chair of the On Site Nature Measures Working Group and Associate Environmental Sustainability Director at Miller Homes
For more information, or to join the commitment, contact Jo Stott, chair of the On Site Nature Measures Working Group and Associate Environmental Sustainability Director at Miller Homes.
