FPCR puts 80 ecologists through field training as biodiversity rules reshape warehouse development
Biodiversity net gain (BNG) is moving from planning-committee footnote to a key action item that can decide the cost and timing of a warehouse scheme — and the ecologists advising the logistics sector are investing in their fieldcraft accordingly.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANCY FPCR Environment and Design recently ran a four-day botany and habitat surveying CPD programme, bringing together around 80 staff to strengthen botanical identification and habitat surveying skills across all experience levels.
Notably for warehouse developers, the advanced day took FPCR’s most experienced botanists to Strawberry Hill Heath Nature Reserve to investigate heathland and open mosaic habitats — and to discuss the challenges of surveying disturbed sites, exactly the conditions found on the brownfield land that logistics schemes increasingly target.
Why does this matter to a warehouse audience? Because the habitat baseline on a site makes a substantial difference to what 10% BNG costs and how it is achieved. FPCR ecologist Sam Arthur will bring that argument to Tomorrow’s Warehouse Manchester on 30 September, in a Warehouse Property theatre session titled “BNG and Brownfield: What Logistics Developers Need to Know”. Arthur will run through three contrasting logistics case studies, from open mosaic habitat to a rebuild on a cleared site, and highlight the changes to thresholds and exemptions on the horizon now that the government consultation on brownfield BNG reforms has closed. His message: considering BNG strategy early — with good survey data and creative on-site solutions — can turn ecology into “a planned, costed, and value-adding part of your scheme” rather than a late surprise.
Tomorrow’s Warehouse Manchester takes place at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground. Entry is free, with food and parking included, and CPD points on offer.
Register free at https://registration.tomorrowswarehouse.live/register
