MANAGEMENT / PLANNING
aesthetic point of view this offers the developer the opportunity to landscape a garden that can display originality and also maintain the feel of the surrounding area .
This does not appear to be a simple piece of green window dressing either . Based on its 2013 Sustainability Report , 27 percent of the land on Barratt ’ s developments is used specifically for gardens and communal areas , a significant percentage in a sector traditionally associated with bricks and mortar . Aside from reducing damage from habitat loss , gardens that have ‘ wild ’ areas are easier to maintain , saving the owner time while supporting
biodiversity . Gardens such as these could be a used as a model to be rolled out universally , however this approach is limited by both owner choice and government policy .
The National Planning Policy Framework broadly outlines that biodiversity must be considered in the planning process , but does not detail how this would be implemented and would rest upon the interpretation of individual planners . Ultimately , the efficacy of this strategy would be determined by the choices of the homeowner as there is no law to prevent a homeowner from tarmacing over those carefully selected wildflowers or even replacing them
‘ It would be even more exciting to see what green innovators would be capable of if even more funding and government support were available ’
10 April 2015