Wildfell wins Excellence in Biodiversity Conservation and Enhancement

Awarded at the 2024 Essex Housing Awards

Ground Control’s Wildfell Centre for Environmental Recovery has won the “Excellence in Biodiversity Conservation and Enhancement” award at this year's Essex Housing Award. Whilst the awards themselves are well established, the 2024 ceremony is the first time biodiversity and conservation enhancement has been recognised in this way, with Wildfell being the award’s inaugural winner.

The Essex Housing Awards recognises high-quality developments, services and individuals from the public, private and voluntary sectors and promotes best practice across the county.

The category celebrates companies’ “contribution to nature conservation in support of new biodiversity targets, with emphasis on habitat creation, enhancement, and connectivity.” The winner is chosen by a panel of leading housing professionals and advisors.

Wildfell has been key part of Ground Control’s biodiversity commitment since 2021, with the aim of creating over 200 acres of new habitats in the form of woodlands, scrub, and species-rich grassland, with woodland creation being one of the largest recent schemes in the Southeast. It is forecast to sequester the equivalent of 18,000 tons of carbon dioxide with the planting of 100,000 trees.

The strategic site under NEIRF (Natural Environmental Investment Readiness Fund) Project, provides offsite biodiversity units for developments across the South Suffolk & North Essex Clayland National Character area and beyond. For some developments, achieving nature gain or the required net gain target might fall outside the site limits. For these developers, biodiversity units from such sites offer high integrity units assessed and maintained against the DEFRA requirements.

Ground Control's Wildfell team at the Essex Housing Awards

In reaction to the award win, Chris Bawtree, Nature Recovery Director, thanked partners and collaborators involved in the project’s success.

The success of Wildfell is down to a huge collaboration between Ground Control experts, specialist partners, the local community, volunteers, and strategic partners. Without a contribution from all these, achieving biodiversity net gain and supporting nature at such a scale would not be possible.

Alongside all our volunteers, we would like to thank the Evergreen Fund for their initial investment, partners from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Plantlife International, Forestry Commission, Kew Gardens, Essex Wildlife Trust, and strategic partners at Essex County Council and FWAG East.

As the project continues to grow, we are excited to continue to educate, innovate and create a space for nature to flourish.

The success at this site has led to the launch of a second centre, with the Devana Centre for Environmental Recovery, a 100-acre site supporting developments in South Cambridgeshire District Council LPA, opening in 2023.

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