Housebuilder Barratt David Wilson Redrow South Wales and the RSPB, the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, are extending their partnership for another five years.
Parent company Barratt Redrow is investing an additional £1 million on top of what it spends supporting nature and wildlife on its developments.
The extension of the partnership means that local developments such as Pentref Llewelyn in Swansea and Afon Las at Plasdwr in Cardiff can continue to benefit from RSPB advice, helping to give nature a home.
Since 2014, the RSPB has been providing expertise to Barratt David Wilson Redrow South Wales to help build homes and developments in a nature-friendly way, to inspire homeowners to support wildlife on their doorstep and to influence government and the wider sector to help nature thrive.
Through the Nature on Your Doorstep initiative, the partnership encouraged people to create a wildlife haven in their own outdoor spaces, using content, top tips and advice that was visited by over 1.5 million unique users on the RSPB website.
By writing landscaping and gardening guides, designing a new swift brick which is being installed in 7,500 new homes, and creating wildlife-friendly show home gardens, the partnership is working to set the benchmark for nature-friendly housing across the country.
Now, with the partnership extended for another five years and with an expanded RSPB team supporting it, Barratt David Wilson Redrow South Wales and the RSPB hope to achieve even more. This includes establishing more exemplar nature-friendly features around the country and rolling out Species Enhancement Plans. These plans, tailored for specific developments, will support species most in need in that area.
Nigel Palmer, Managing Director of Barratt David Wilson Redrow South Wales, said:
“Whilst we face a nature and climate emergency in the UK we also need to build more homes to tackle the housing crisis. This is why we have partnered with the RSPB for the past 11 years to show how it’s possible to build new homes for people and wildlife. We are delighted to now be extending the partnership for another five years, building on what we have already learnt together giving nature a home.”
Beccy Speight, the RSPB’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We are at a very critical time in terms of the state of the natural world and now more than ever, it is absolutely vital that we put nature at the centre of everything we do — especially when it comes to planning where and how we build houses in this country.
“We know that when we join forces and work together, with the right expertise and shared aims, we can achieve more for nature and we look forward to continuing to build on what our partnership with Barratt David Wilson Redrow South Wales has already achieved, for the next five years.”
The partnership has won many awards including a BIG biodiversity challenge award for show home designs, the corporate engagement award for best sustainable programme and a prestigious RSPCA animal hero award.
