Newhey Habitat Bank

County: Greater Manchester
Local planning authority (LPA): Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
National Character Area (NCA): Southern Pennines

Birds-eye render of Newhey Habitat Bank before restoration

Biodiversity Units available:

Very high distinctiveness habitats

Lowland meadows
Fens (upland and lowland)

High distinctiveness habitats

Ponds (priority habitat)

Medium distinctiveness habitats

Rural trees
Mixed scrub
Upland acid grassland
Other neutral grassland

Buy Biodiversity Units

Habitat Bank overview

Since the spring of 2024, we’ve been creating a Habitat Bank across roughly 25 hectares of grade 4 and 5 farmland less than four miles from Rochdale.

Strategically placed to connect habitats across the area, the Newhey Habitat Bank is just beside the Crompton Moor Site of Biological Importance (SBI), a designated site that will benefit from connectivity to our Habitat Bank.

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 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council LPA and the Southern Pennines NCA.

Coverage

Adjacent LPAs	Adjacent NCAs
Manchester City Council	Dark Peak
Calderdale Borough Council	Yorkshire Dales
Rossendale Borough Council	Lancashire Valleys
Bury Metropolitan Borough Council	Pennine Dales Fringe
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council	Lancashire Coal Measures
	Manchester Pennine Fringe
	Yorkshire Southern Pennine Fringe
	Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire & Yorkshire Coalfield

Our vision

At our Newhey Habitat Bank, which sits within Rochdale’s Local Plan green belt zone, we’re creating a diverse range of new habitats and enhancing the existing spaces – including the notable upland fen habitat.

The Habitat Bank is less than two miles from the South Pennine Moors Special Protection Area (SPA) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC), and this site was chosen for its ecological potential to connect local habitats such as the blanket bog priority habitat Fragmentation Action Zone to the east.

We anticipate that our new habitats will help several species of wildlife grow in numbers – this includes badgers, otters, great crested newts, barn owls, hobby falcons, peregrines, and curlews.

We’re really pleased that members of the local community will also be able to share in the growing biodiversity, accessing areas of the Habitat Bank via several public footpaths.