Bingfield Habitat Bank

County: Northumberland
Local planning authority (LPA): Northumberland County Council
National Character Area (NCA): Mid Northumberland
Biodiversity gain sites register number: BGS-101024001

Birds-eye render of Bingfield Habitat Bank before restoration

Biodiversity Units available:

Very high distinctiveness habitats

Lowland meadows

High distinctiveness habitats

Ponds (priority habitat)

Medium distinctiveness habitats

Mixed scrub
Ponds (non-priority habitat)

Buy Biodiversity Units

Habitat Bank overview

Our Bingfield Habitat Bank covers a space of 20 hectares approximately 25km northwest of Newcastle city centre where we are creating an incredible site for nature recovery.

There, we are establishing rich wildflower meadows and native scrubland to provide a home for a variety of native flora and fauna.

BNG delivery

At every Habitat Bank, we always look at the land to determine what can be achieved from the very start. Our biodiversity experts assess the soil, wildlife, vegetation, geology, hydrology, management history, and connectivity across the local landscape.

We take a baseline for each Habitat Bank using the statutory biodiversity metric. We carefully select the best possible habitats for us to establish so we can deliver and demonstrate measurable biodiversity gains over time.

Biodiversity Units from this Habitat Bank are ready to purchase now, subject to availability. Provided alongside expert planning support, these Biodiversity Units offer an effective local off-site BNG solution for the Northumberland County Council LPA and the Mid Northumberland NCA.

Coverage

Adjacent LPAs	Adjacent NCAs
Carlisle City Council	Tyne Gap and Hadrian’s Wall
Newcastle City Council	Northumberland Sandstone Hills
North Tyneside Council	North Northumberland Coastal Plain
Durham County Council	South East Northumberland Coastal Plain
Northumberland National Park
Westmorland and Furness Council
Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council

Our vision

The site will become two vast lowland hay meadows, transforming the land from heavily grazed pasture with relatively low biodiversity into a thriving haven supporting a diverse mixture of native grasses and broad-leaved herbs.

The Habitat Bank will be subject to traditional meadow management practices and closed to livestock across the flowering season each year. This will allow locally uncommon wildflowers to flourish and the diversity of the sward to improve year on year.

The northern area of the Habitat Bank lies adjacent to a flood zone. By improving the soil health so that it can retain more water, the landscape’s resilience will be enhanced against the effects of climate change and flood events.

Equally, the site lies adjacent to neighbouring ponds and woodland parcels. This means that the new habitats we are creating will build vital local ecological connectivity, allowing species to disperse and populations to thrive. This will include great crested newt and brown hare.

Scrubland creation will provide ideal nesting habitat for a variety of birds including locally declining farmland species. The site is known to already support a variety of invertebrates, and the design of the Habitat Bank will support them by providing suitable habitats and connectivity with the surrounding area.