BNG for Durham Council’s new housing project
Durham Council required support in meeting Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) for an affordable housing development, and Environment Bank was able to act fast and supply off-site Biodiversity Units when another provider fell through.
About the development project
In the village of Burnhope, Durham, the local council was planning to build 32 high-quality, affordable homes as part of a county-wide long-term housing development plan. This project was being managed by T Manners & Sons, the UK’s oldest family-owned construction company, working on behalf of the council. It was set to transform a disused brownfield site into an accessible and sustainable residential area.
The housing planned for Burnhope would commence in September 2025. It would feature a mix of two-bed, three-bed, and four-bed houses, fulfilling an urgent local need for affordable housing.
The location would give residents access to many local and national transport links. To give local people enhanced access to green space in Burnhope, this development would also include access to existing public footpaths to support the health and social wellbeing of its residents.
Delivering reliable BNG solutions to tight timescales
Despite the site’s local green space, it was not possible to achieve the 10% biodiversity gain to meet requirements entirely on-site, so off-site Biodiversity Units were required to satisfy planning conditions.
The initial start date for on-site development was set for March 2025 and T Manners & Sons reached out to a BNG provider. However, this provider was ultimately unable to deliver compliant Biodiversity Units on time.
T Manners & Sons then reached out to Environment Bank and was able to reserve and purchase fully compliant Biodiversity Units well-ahead of the development’s new start date of September 2025. These Biodiversity Units were formally allocated to the development on the biodiversity gain sites register (BGSR) at the start of September.
With help from Environment Bank, we were able to overcome the challenges that this project faced and get everything back on track. The team provided so much support the whole way and made sure that the Biodiversity Units were secured well-ahead of the construction start date. There’s a reason they’re a trusted BNG provider.
Stephen Bell
Land and Partnerships Director
T Manners & Sons
Contributing towards large-scale habitat restoration
With an urgent need to fulfil BNG requirements, Environment Bank provided T Manners & Sons with off-site Biodiversity Units for other neutral grassland that were readily available and fully registered from Harrogate Habitat Bank. As this Habitat Bank is sat in the adjacent local planning authority (LPA) area to the project, it proved to be a quick and cost-effective solution.
Harrogate Habitat Bank is a large-scale BNG project, one of Environment Bank’s oldest, in which we’ve been restoring biodiversity to over eighty acres of land, including creating habitats to suit a wide range of bat and bird species, including barn owl.
Our team of trained ecologists have established a series of thriving habitats – including scrub, woodland, and species-rich hedgerow – and we’re also partnering with the local farmers to help support their sustainable farming business.
It was a pleasure to work with Durham County Council and T Manners & Sons, and help support the development of affordable housing in Burnhope. It’s fantastic to see a project that benefits local people also support large-scale habitat restoration.
Ettie Gioia
Senior Key Account Manager
Environment Bank