Wymondham Habitat Bank

County: Norfolk
Local planning authority (LPA): South Norfolk District Council
National Character Area (NCA): South Norfolk and High Suffolk Claylands
Biodiversity gain sites register number: BGS-100225001

Birds-eye render of Wymondham Habitat Bank before restoration

Very high distinctiveness habitats

Fens (upland and lowland)
Lowland meadows

High distinctiveness habitats

Other rivers and streams
Ponds (priority habitat)
Species-rich native hedgerow with trees
Traditional orchards

Medium distinctiveness habitats

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

Low distinctiveness habitats

Modified grassland

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Habitat Bank overview

Our Wymondham Habitat Bank is well placed to connect local landscapes in the Norfolk Valley Fens near Norwich. Since autumn 2024, we’ve been transforming almost fifty-five acres of low-yielding cropland fields into a range of diverse habitat types.

There, we hope to create a home for a range of protected species, including birds like green woodpecker and yellowhammer, bats like soprano pipistrelle, invertebrates like heath butterfly and yellow-faced bee, amphibians like great crested newt and common toad, and wetland plants like Norfolk-rare common valerian.

BNG delivery

At each of our Habitat Banks, our team assesses the land at the very start to maximise our biodiversity uplift. During this process we look at the site’s existing wildlife and vegetation, geological features, hydrology, extended management history, and its wider connectivity in the region.

Then, using the statutory biodiversity metric, we take a baseline for each Habitat Bank. Our team carefully considers the land and decides on the best possible habitats that will deliver and demonstrate resilient and adaptable biodiversity gains over our thirty-year management period.

Neighbouring LPAs
Broadland District Council
Mid Suffolk District Council
Broads Authority
Breckland Council
East Suffolk Council
Norwich City Council

Neighbouring NCAs
South Suffolk and North Essex Clayland
Suffolk Coast and Heaths
The Brecks
Mid Norfolk
The Broads

Our vision

Wymondham Habitat Bank sits along a strategic Green Infrastructure (GI) corridor and is placed between two local Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) – Flordon Common and Lower Wood, Ashwellthorpe. These sites are designated in particular for their open fen meadows, wetland communities, and ancient woodlands.

Natural England has mapped the site as within a Network Enhancement Zone designated river corridor and lowland meadow – so our new meadow habitat will contribute towards these local nature strategies.

Species living at the nearby Flordon Common include the rare narrow-mouthed whorl snail and yellow iris. Our Habitat Bank offers an opportunity to connect adjacent priority habitats and create a space where species like these can grow in abundance.

A public footpath runs parallel to the south of the site, so people from the local community will be able to enjoy the increased biodiversity as the Habitat Bank develops.