Urban invertebrates
The push to protect rare insects in brownfield sites
Brownfield land recognised for the importance of its wildlife should be completely protected from future development, says a recent paper issued to councils.
The advice was published in the wake of the Government’s announcement that it is to create a register of brownfield sites to accelerate the rate of new housing construction in the UK.
Concerned about the pressure to build in areas that may be unsightly but are wildlife-rich, the umbrella group Wildlife & Countryside Link (WCL) said that Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and local wildlife areas should be exempt from development.
The paper says that authorities should pay particular attention to so-called ‘mosaic’ habitats. “A brownfield site can have wet areas, wildflowers and sandy banks, which produce habitat of a very high value and is good for invertebrates,” said Alice Farr, planning manager of Buglife, one of the organisations behind the guidelines. These areas of disturbed land can be as significant for their rare species as ancient woodland habitat, according to the guidelines.
The Homes and Communities Agency has identified 62,000ha of brownfield land that could be developed, creating 1.8 million homes. The WCL, however, says that 6–8 per cent of brownfield sites should not be built on because of their biodiversity value.
The pressure to build homes makes it hard to convince councils of the importance of invertebrates compared with bats and dormice. “You must get in early and do the right surveys,” said Farr. “If you don’t, you might miss the value of the site.”
The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) welcomed the proposal for a register, but said more needed to be done to protect the countryside. “The planning framework is biased towards sites that are easy and profitable to develop,” said the CPRE’s Paul Miner, “which leads to the loss of greenfield sites.”
500% The increase in the number of homes securing planning permission on greenbelt land between 2010 and 2015 – last year 11,977, according to research carried out for the BBC.