A four-hectare area of woodland at Yorkshire Building Society’s Bradford headquarters has been identified as having high biodiversity value following a survey by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
The woodland runs from the rear of the mutual’s Yorkshire Drive offices towards neighbouring Parkside, creating a green corridor within a heavily developed urban area.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust assessed the condition of habitats and species present at the site as part of work intended to inform the building society’s future management of the land.
The conservation charity described the site as “a pocket of natural woodland in a heavily urbanised landscape – likely to support a diverse assemblage of fauna including breeding birds foraging / commuting bats and other mammals”.
FURTHER SURVEYS RECOMMENDED
Recommendations arising from the study include removing invasive plants to improve ground flora and carrying out specialist surveys to establish baseline data and conservation priorities for species including bats.
The work forms part of Yorkshire Building Society’s wider environmental programme and its aim of improving the places in which its members, colleagues and communities live and work.
Kate Livesey (pictured, left), environment manager at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “By caring for the places around us, we help make good homes and healthy communities possible for more people.
“We are proud to partner with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to better understand and enhance the natural environment around our Bradford headquarters.
“This work reflects our belief that strong, thriving communities begin with the places we call home and supporting a healthy natural environment is at the centre of this.
“By investing in biodiversity and understanding how local habitats can flourish – even in our urban location – we’re helping to create greener, more resilient places for people and wildlife, today and for generations to come.”
Gabrielle Cruttenden (pictured, right) nature based solutions lead at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said: “Urban areas can play such an important role in nature’s network and support some of our much-loved species like swifts, hedgehogs and butterflies.
“Yorkshire Building Society have taken an important step to survey their grounds, to understand how best to protect and enhance it, helping nature flourish while strengthening the connection between people and the natural world right where they live and work. We are delighted to provide survey expertise and advice, and to find out what the grounds reveal.
“With 3,000 species in Yorkshire at risk of extinction, every green space we can improve for nature is vital in our ambitions, and national targets to achieve 30% of Yorkshire being cared for, for nature.”
The survey also supports Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s wider objective of securing a third of Yorkshire for nature and the UK’s 30 by 30 ambition to protect and positively manage 30% of land, water and sea for nature by 2030.
