Project Overview
EMEC was appointed to help design and achieve planning approval for a new 200 space parking facility set in a biodiverse landscape at Experian’s Sir John Peace office at the NG2 campus in Nottingham.
In response to new ways of working, prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, Experian restructured their Nottingham office to function as a regional hub. To support this organisational change an additional 200 parking spaces were needed on site to accommodate a more geographically diverse workforce, and more dynamic use of the building.
The 1.46-hectare site selected for the new car park was a levelled brownfield plot composed of made ground, located between the John Peace Building and the River Leen wildlife corridor. The site had stood unused for twenty years, and in that time a diverse successional landscape composed primarily of open grassland and woody scrub, had established. As a result, the site as an ‘open mosaic habitat’ which has a high ecological value.
The Challenge
The challenge of the design was threefold. How to accommodate Experian’s organisational demands for parking, whilst satisfying Nottingham’s progressive transportation policy, and most importantly minimising impact to the site’s rich ecology. Ultimately achieving a policy requirement of 10% net gain in biodiversity across the campus.
Nottingham based Architectural practice, Maber appointed EMEC to carry out a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) and Biodiversity Impact Assessment (BIA) using the DEFRA Metric 3.0. The site had a relatively high biodiversity value due to the presence of a Habitat of Principal Importance (HPI), comprising a Mosaic of Habitats on Previously Developed Land.
In the absence of mitigation, the development would have resulted in a 39% loss of biodiversity. The site also comprised a small population of bee orchids, and potential to support sheltering amphibians and reptiles (including great crested newt, a European Protected Species (EPS), foraging and commuting badger and bats, small mammals including European hedgehog, and breeding birds.
The Solution
Our team of ecologists recommended a suite of on and off-site habitat enhancements, which would ultimately result in a 14% biodiversity net gain. Recommendations included minimising the area of HPI lost, replacing the HPI in surrounding offsite amenity land and enhancing the remaining HPI and other habitats on and off site.
Additionally, the design focused on enhancing biodiversity by using permeable Geopave material seeded with a grass mix in place of hardstanding, the creation of a bioswales to cope with rainwater drainage and the inclusion of bird, bat and insect boxes, and green-roofed cycle shelters.
The design aimed to promote staff wellbeing by providing seating and mown paths through the surrounding habitats with nature-focussed interpretation boards, and future ideas for staff-led allotments and beehives.
The development design was altered to avoid the area of bee orchids, and reasonable avoidance measures were implemented to avoid/minimise impacts to protected and notable species.
The Outcome
Collaboration with maber was central to the success of the Experian project. maber’s landscape team collaborated with office and estates staff in re assessing the value of the existing landscape ecology, and its role in the broader context of climate change, sustainability, and environmental responsibility. It not only helped shape the design strategy for the new car park, but critically identified biodiversity goals across the broader campus.
It also started a discussion about nature, education, and place making that extended through the organisation resulting in the inclusion of community garden plots in the design and the founding of an employee’s gardening group. Experian have also partnered with local beekeepers and the site now hosts 6 beehives and a new population of 500,000 bees.
