Using Building with Nature to achieve sustainable development Site: Langleybury Farm Client: Ralph Trustees Ltd Departments Involved: Ecology Overview Nicholsons provided ecological, green and blue infrastructure and Building with Nature support to a hybrid film and television development near the edge of Watford in the Three Rivers District. The development aimed to create Read more »

Soils Case Study - SUEZ, Aberdeen The project aimed to enhance and expand wildflower seeding and shrub planting on an industrial site in Aberdeen, in turn, to increase biodiversity on the site. Suitable species were selected by understanding the site's soil and coastal weather conditions. These species, along with habitat structure, were to Read more »

New Woodland Creation - Blenheim Estate Key Species: The objective of this ongoing project was to convert low-grade, unprofitable agricultural land into functional, multi-purpose woodlands. The new woodlands include more than 270,000 trees planted across nearly 100 hectares of land, 9.5km of connective permissive footpaths and specific planting designs to increase climate resilience and biodiversity. Areas of open space Read more »

Natural Capital Appraisal - Brudenell Estates A bespoke natural capital approach was developed for the Deene Park estate team and their advisors. This outlined the opportunities and risks linked with the estate’s key objectives and existing strategic plan. In working with the estate, we collated data from the estate’s own records, combined with the wider land management data sets Read more »

Standingford House, Cave Street, St Clements Ecology support and biodiversity gain for new offices in Oxford Site:Standingford House Client: ADP ARCHITECTURE / WARD, K. Overview Nicholsons Lockhart Garratt provided ecological support to redevelopment of an office building in St Clements near Headington, Oxford, replacing an existing office building. Key constraints on the site were (low) potential for roosting bats, and Read more »

Mountpark Woodland - St Peters Wood, Swadlincote “This Nicholsons team have been exceptional through our journey into woodland creation, from their site assessment, scheme design, liaison with all stakeholders and the National Forest and effective implementation and management.  As a company we are immensely proud of what we have achieved." Wal Groves, European Construction Director Background Mountpark, recognising the increasing focus Read more »

Achieving planning consent for a broad scheme in Oxford Site: Court Place Gardens, Iffley Client: Oxford University Development Ltd Overview Nicholsons provided ecological support to a new 71 home residential development in Iffley, Oxford, replacing 36 existing properties used as student accommodation. Key constraints on the site were roosting bats, including a pipistrelle maternity roost and several day roosts, an Read more »

Rockingham Forest Park Nicholsons were delighted to assist with the development of a new holiday park close to the old RAF Kings Cliffe site in Northamptonshire. This development involved the skills from our ecology, arboriculture, and landscape teams with a brief to provide a luxury holiday experience well connected to nature and the local landscape. The development site itself was Read more »

Primary School Extensions - Great Crested Newt Surveys Nicholsons (formerly Lockhart Garratt) were instructed by the county council in relation to a number of extensions to primary schools across the county in 2015. As part of this instruction habitat and protected species surveys were required to assess the impacts of the proposed extensions, most notably in relation to bats and Read more »

Bradgate Park- bat conservation in ancient parkland trees Bradgate Park offers 335 ha (830 acres) of publicly accessible countryside just a few miles north west of Leicester city centre and is popular with cyclists, dog walkers and ramblers. First enclosed as a deer park around 800 years ago, the landscape is wild and rugged, dotted with rocky outcrops and Read more »