Thoughtfully placed along the River Gowy, our Chester Habitat Bank is less than five miles from the city centre and spreads across roughly 50 hectares near to Mickle Trafford. This BNG Habitat Bank is specifically designed to encourage an abundance of native flora and fauna through its diverse habitats – including wildflower meadows, mixed native woody scrub, woodland, reedbeds, and ponds.  

Following a thorough assessment of the site's vegetation, wildlife, geology, hydrology, soil chemistry, management history, and landscape connectivity, we determined the best possible habitats to establish and made sure these enhancements would be deliverable. We established an ecological baseline for the site using Defra’s biodiversity metric, so we can clearly demonstrate biodiversity gains over time. 

This assessment enables us to generate a range of high-integrity Biodiversity Unit habitat types that will ensure robust ecological outcomes. We also offer planning support to make sure our Biodiversity Units provide an effective local BNG delivery solution for developers within the Cheshire West and Chester Council LPA area or Shropshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire Plain NCA. Our Units are ready to purchase now, subject to availability.

Our Chester Habitat Bank provides an excellent location for farmland to transform and lost habitats to be reintroduced. Divided by the railway line connecting Chester and Helsby, the site was largely made up of species-poor grazing land.  

We are working closely with the landowner to restore biodiversity and encourage a wealth of wildlife to grow in abundance. We’re also using the farmer’s existing livestock to graze the Habitat Bank sustainably, creating structural variety amongst the habitats – reflecting historic land management practices that supported healthy ecosystems. 

With a significant portion of coastal and floodplain grazing marsh which periodically floods from the River Gowy, we are intentionally creating a diverse range of maintained wetland habitats. These will include floodplain wetland mosaic, ditches, and ponds designed for amphibians and birds of special conservation status to thrive. 

We are pleased that the public will be able to witness the natural development of this broad space over time by visiting via multiple public rights of way (PRoW) throughout the Habitat Bank.