The Hampshire-based business park has been awarded the benchmark following two years of embedding biodiversity into its management practices.
◆ Chineham Park is one of only three business parks in the UK to be granted a Wildlife Trust Biodiversity Benchmark.
UNITED KINGDOM, 13 MARCH 2024
Chineham Park, based in Basingstoke, has become one of only three business parks in the UK to achieve the Wildlife Trust Biodiversity Benchmark, following a review of its approach to biodiversity and commitment to create more sustainable places.
The Wildlife Trust Biodiversity Benchmark is industry-leading and the only standard that certifies and celebrates the management of commercial real estate for ecology and wildlife. The benchmark is designed to complement ISO 14001 and assesses the design and implementation of business management systems to achieve a continued enhancement of biodiversity and protection across sites.
Chineham Park, which is owned, developed and managed by Frasers Property, is an 815,000 sq ft mixed-use business park, with a wide range of buildings and amenities, including ample open green spaces that present the perfect opportunity for welcoming wildlife and ecology to better benefit occupiers, the local community, and the planet. The business park is home to a diverse mix of occupiers such as Turtle Beach, RingGo, Conair Group and Instavolt.
Jeremy Parsons, Sustainability Director at Frasers Property UK commented: “Receiving the Wildlife Trust’s Biodiversity Benchmark for Chineham Park is a real achievement. Sustainable development is no longer merely about building green. The fact that we’re one of just three business parks to achieve this Benchmark is testament to Frasers Property’s ongoing commitment to transforming environments in a sustainable way. We’re focused on future-proofing our business parks and to developing and enhancing biodiverse green spaces, which reflect people’s needs for social interaction and greater wellbeing.”
Chineham Park has been recognised for introducing a number of initiatives and new ways of working, including establishing a Biodiversity Management System, creating the Chineham Park Biodiversity Policy, conducting assessments and surveys to map species and habitats across the park, introducing biodiversity-focused risk assessments for all contractor activities and upskilling landscapers to improve ecological knowledge.
The business park has also taken a proactive approach to enhancing the wellbeing of occupiers with nature-based activities such as walks and planting events. The landscaping team have also reduced the amount of ecologically poor ornamental shrubs and increased pond vegetation, bulbs, trees and native pollinators, plus identified areas for rewilding through reduced management and wildflowers.
Additionally, Chineham Park has partnered with local organisations to promote biodiversity management in the surrounding area, including Natural Basingstoke (main partner), Hampshire and Isle of Wight Amphibian and Reptile Group, The Bumblebee Trust, The Newt Conservation Partnership and Hampshire County Council.
Richard Hawkes, Estate Manager at Chineham Park said: “At Chineham Park, we understand the growing importance of ecology and biodiversity in the built environment. We’ve spent many years assessing our biodiversity impact and landscape activities to ensure sustainability is a core pillar of our developments in helping to reduce our impact on the environment. We are proud to have been awarded the Wildlife’s Trust Biodiversity Benchmark and we will continue to explore new ways we can conserve and enhance biodiverse habitats across our park.”
This certification will sit alongside additional environmental achievements at Chineham Park, including a Green Flag Award, Green Apple Awards and a 2* Fitwel certification.
Frasers Property is focused on ensuring sustainability and biodiversity are core pillars of its park strategies and also recently achieved a GRESB 4* across its business park portfolio.
