Birds-eye map of Chester Habitat Bank showing the areas that are going to be restored into new habitats

Biodiversity Units available:

Very high distinctiveness habitats

  • Lowland meadows

High distinctiveness habitats

  • Reedbeds
  • Wet woodland
  • Traditional orchard
  • Ponds (priority habitat)
  • Floodplain wetland mosaic and CFGM

Medium distinctiveness habitats

  • Ditches
  • Mixed scrub
  • Willow scrub
  • Other neutral grassland
  • Other woodland; broadleaved

Habitat Bank overview

Thoughtfully placed along the River Gowy, our Chester Habitat Bank is less than five miles from the city centre and spreads across roughly 50 hectares near to Mickle Trafford.

This BNG Habitat Bank is specifically designed to encourage an abundance of native flora and fauna through its diverse habitats – including wildflower meadows, mixed native woody scrub, woodland, reedbeds, and ponds. 

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 Cheshire West and Chester LPA and the Shropshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire Plain NCA. 

Coverage

Adjacent LPAsAdjacent NCAs
Wirral CouncilWirral
Shropshire CouncilMersey Valley
Liverpool City CouncilShropshire Hills
Cheshire East CouncilSouth West Peak
Halton Borough CouncilOswestry Uplands
Warrington Borough CouncilManchester Conurbation
Cheshire Sandstone Ridge
Manchester Pennine Fringe
Potteries and Churnet Valley
Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau
Cannock Chase and Cank Wood
Needwood and South Derbyshire Claylands

Our vision

Our Chester Habitat Bank provides an excellent location for farmland to transform and lost habitats to be reintroduced. Divided by the railway line connecting Chester and Helsby, the site was largely made up of species-poor grazing land.  

We are working closely with the landowner to restore biodiversity and encourage a wealth of wildlife to grow in abundance. We’re also using the farmer’s existing livestock to graze the Habitat Bank sustainably, creating structural variety amongst the habitats – reflecting historic land management practices that supported healthy ecosystems. 

With a significant portion of coastal and floodplain grazing marsh which periodically floods from the River Gowy, we are intentionally creating a diverse range of maintained wetland habitats. These will include floodplain wetland mosaic, ditches, and ponds designed for amphibians and birds of special conservation status to thrive. 

We are pleased that the public will be able to witness the natural development of this broad space over time by visiting via multiple Public Rights of Way (PRoWs) throughout the Habitat Bank. 


Buy BNG Units

Find out the cost and availability of Biodiversity Units from Chester Habitat Bank. 


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