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Blackboys Habitat Bank

County
East Sussex
Local planning authority (LPA)
Wealden District Council
National Character Area (NCA)
High Weald
Biodiversity gain sites register number
BGS-191124001
Birds-eye render of Blackboys Habitat Bank with habitats restored, including new meadows, scrub, grassland, ponds, and broadleaved woodland
Birds-eye render of Blackboys Habitat Bank before restoration

Biodiversity Units

Very high distinctiveness habitats

  • Lowland meadows

Medium distinctiveness habitats

  • Mixed scrub
  • Other neutral grassland
  • Other woodland; broadleaved
  • Ponds (non-priority habitat)
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Habitat Bank overview

Our Blackboys Habitat Bank sits across more than forty acres of land in rural East Sussex where we are transforming the existing sheep-grazed pasture fields into a stunning mosaic of species-rich grassland, lowland meadows, mixed scrub, woodland, and ponds.  

The site will provide habitats for a range of notable and declining species, including hedgehog, serotine bat, great crested newt, and hazel dormouse.

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 Blackboys Habitat Bank offer an effective local off-site BNG solution for the Wealden District Council LPA area and the High Weald NCA. They also provide adjacent coverage to the LPAs and NCAs listed below.
Neighbouring LPAs
Sevenoaks District Council
Lewes District Council
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Rother District Council
South Downs National Park Authority
Mid Sussex District Council
Tandridge District Council
Eastbourne Council
Neighbouring NCAs
Low Weald
Romney Marshes
Pevensey Levels

Our vision

Blackboys Habitat Bank is strategically located so we can connect existing parcels of ancient woodland within the surrounding area. Woodland creation is one of the key opportunities identified in the High Weald National Character Area in which the Habitat Bank resides.  

By connecting these ancient woodland parcels located at Browning Wood – an area listed within the Ancient Woodland Inventory – we’re creating better ecological connectivity on a broader scale, providing natural stepping stones for key species to travel and build in abundance. 

The site has multiple public access points and rights of way (PRoW). We’re really excited for the local community to be able to visit, to witness the habitats develop over the coming decade, and to observe many notable and protected species of wildlife as they grow in abundance. It is hoped that sightings of species such as white admiral, grass snake, and bullfinch will become commonplace.

Environment Bank's Chief Nature Officer, Emma, a woman in her forties with long curly brown hair, wearing a blue outdoor coat, stood on-site at a Habitat Bank with a landowner - a woman in her sixties with curly grey hair, wearing a hat, green fleece and blue jeans - and her herd of sheep
(Left) Blackboys Habitat Bank landowner | (Right) Emma Toovey, Chief Nature Officer at Environment Bank

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