Dereham Habitat Bank

County: Norfolk
Local planning authority (LPA): Breckland District Council
National Character Area (NCA): Mid Norfolk

Birds-eye render of Dereham Habitat Bank before restoration

Biodiversity Units

Very high distinctiveness habitats

Lowland meadows

High distinctiveness habitats

Traditional orchard
Ponds (priority habitat)

Medium distinctiveness habitats

Ditches
Rural trees
Mixed scrub
Other neutral grassland
Ponds (non-priority habitat)
Other woodland; broadleaved

Low distinctiveness habitats

Modified grassland

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Habitat Bank overview

Near the village of East Tuddenham, little over ten miles from Norwich, we’ve been establishing a vast BNG Habitat Bank. Across more than 75 acres, our ecologists are transforming the low-biodiversity cropland into a range of new habitats to complement the local landscape.

This space will provide new habitat opportunities for several notable wildlife species, such as lapwing, great crested newt, and brown hare. With a public footpath crossing the Habitat Bank, we’re pleased that people from the local area will get to enjoy the site’s increasing biodiversity over the coming decades.

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.

Coverage

Biodiversity Units from Dereham Habitat Bank offer an effective local off-site BNG solution for the Breckland District Council LPA area and the Mid Norfolk NCA. They also provide adjacent coverage to the LPAs and NCAs listed below.

Adjacent LPAs	Adjacent NCAs
West Suffolk Council	The Brecks
Mid Suffolk District Council	The Broads
Broadland District Council	North West Norfolk
North Norfolk District Council	Central North Norfolk
South Norfolk District Council	South Norfolk and High Suffolk Claylands
Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk

Our vision

Sat within a lowland meadow enhancement area, Dereham Habitat Bank has been strategically placed to help connect ecosystems across the Norfolk landscape and benefit a huge range of wildlife.

The site is close to both Hockering Wood, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and Coston Fen in Runhall, a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and SSSI. It’s also near to several priority habitats, including coastal and floodplain grazing marsh (CFGM), lowland fens, and deciduous woodland.

We’re working closely with the local landowner, a Norfolk native, whose own cattle are helping to manage the meadows and grassland across Dereham Habitat Bank through sustainable, low-intensity grazing – an approach known to help benefit wildflower diversity.

Our new habitats have been chosen to help increase the abundance of wildlife, including bird species like song thrush, lapwing, and skylark; mammal species such as hedgehog, weasel, noctule, and brown long-eared bat; invertebrate species like marsh carpet and common darter; reptile species like common lizard; amphibians such as great crested newt and common toad; and plant species like ragged robin and field scabious.