Puddington Habitat Bank

County: Devon
Local planning authority (LPA): Mid Devon District Council
National Character Area (NCA): The Culm
Biodiversity gain sites register number: BGS-280824001

Birds-eye render of Puddington Habitat Bank before restoration

Biodiversity Units available:

Medium distinctiveness habitats

Mixed scrub
Other neutral grassland

Habitat Bank overview

Our Puddington Habitat Bank covers a 10-hectare section of former arable farmland located within a wider mixed farm. We are now restoring the land to mosaic of habitats including scrubland and native species-rich grassland.

To support the landowner’s current farming business, we developed a tailored Habitat Management Plan to allow their herd of Devon Ruby Reds to roam and graze the new habitats.

By doing so, we’re enhancing, rather than harming, the land through sensitive traditional management techniques designed to support local biodiversity and provide a much-needed haven for wildlife within the local area.

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.

Provided alongside expert planning support, Biodiversity Units from this Habitat Bank are ready to purchase now, subject to availability.

Coverage

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

Adjacent LPAs	Adjacent NCAs
Somerset Council	Exmoor
North Devon Council	Dartmoor
Exmoor National Park	South Devon
Dartmoor National Park	Cornish Killas
Torridge District Council	Devon Redlands
East Devon District Council
Teignbridge District Council
West Devon Borough Council

Our vision

Due to decades of intensive swede farming with fertilisers, the soil was very high in nutrients and biologically depleted – leaving the land ecologically poor.

Since we’ve begun restoring biodiverse habitats, the newly established grassland has become a rich tapestry of wildflowers including species such as yellow-rattle, red clover, and black knapweed. These are just some of a number of species introduced with species-rich hay sourced from a local Culm grassland site.

Already, Puddington Moor is attracting wildlife from far and wide including large flocks of goldfinch and wintering snipe. As time goes on, the site will continue to improve and become ever richer as new species move in and begin to thrive.

The newly established areas of scrub will provide vital cover and nesting opportunities for small mammals, birds, and invertebrates including the nationally declining yellowhammer and brown hairstreak butterfly, both of which are present locally.

While the management of the landscape will provide tangible gains in ecosystem services to the area, such as cleaner water into the rivers and increased biodiversity within the farmed landscape, it will also help with crop pollination and pest control.