Newhey Habitat Bank

County: Greater Manchester
Local planning authority (LPA): Rochdale Borough Council
National Character Area (NCA): Southern Pennines
Biodiversity gain sites register number: BGS-130325001

Birds-eye render of Newhey Habitat Bank before restoration

Very high distinctiveness habitats

Fens (upland and lowland)
Lowland meadows

High distinctiveness habitats

Ponds (priority habitat)

Medium distinctiveness habitats

Mixed scrub
Other neutral grassland
Rural tree
Upland acid grassland

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Habitat Bank overview

Since the spring of 2024, we’ve been creating a Habitat Bank across more than sixty acres of grade 4 and 5 farmland just under four miles from Rochdale.

Strategically placed to connect habitats across the area, 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.

Neighbouring LPAs
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council
Bury Metropolitan Borough Council
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
Manchester City Council
Rossendale Borough Council

Neighbouring NCAs
Dark Peak
Lancashire Coal Measures
Nottingham, Derbyshire and Yorkshire Coalfield
Lancashire Valleys
Pennine Dales Fringe
Yorkshire Southern Pennine Fringe
Manchester Pennine Fringe
Yorkshire Dales

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.