January 2010

Did we ever tell you about the birds and the bees…?
Alex Butcher, BAM’s Assistant Environmental Advisor, narrates five tales about constructing a better habitat

Construction projects routinely encounter non-human neighbours and as contractors we’ve got a responsibility to be aware of and take steps to look after the wildlife that surrounds the buildings we construct. You might not think of a construction team as soft-hearted and not all of the life we encounter on the trees and terrain is soft and cuddly, but it often needs special measures by law to protect it. Starting at West Herts College in Watford with project manager Adam Harding:
‘The college’s exiting site had a natural badger set in the footprint of the proposed new building. We constructed a new set to the rear of the site within a designated wildlife corridor zone and the badgers were relocated here. The corridor is dedicated to wildlife and must be undisturbed. This is recognized in the planning conditions and the original scheme design.
‘Our works needed to be licensed by Natural England and the College employed a consultant to coordinate it, and assist with design and construction procedures.
‘Watford Borough Council has visited occasionally to check all is in order and ensure the badgers are happy. During the construction works we have installed hoardings and protective screens to keep construction operatives, debris and dust away from the area.
‘Planning conditions obliged the BAM team to conduct bat surveys prior to demolition taking place and bird surveys prior to the felling of trees. Then we incorporated 20 ‘swift bricks’ to the precast brick?panels for the west elevation prior to installation on site. These have hollows to encourage nesting by these birds?which are on the RSPB’s ‘amber concern’ list?because the population is?in decline.
‘All of these issues are highlighted during site induction so that all those who work on this site ensure we don’t disturb the wildlife.’
Trees are another natural neighbour to many of our sites and we sometimes have to take steps to preserve them. A Tree Preservation Order (TPO) is a part of town and country planning. A TPO is made by a Local Planning Authority (usually a local council) to protect specific trees or a particular area, group or woodland from deliberate damage and destruction. TPOs can prevent the felling, lopping, topping, uprooting or willful damage to trees without the permission of the Local Planning Authority. They can be made very quickly and in practice it is normal for a council to make an emergency TPO in less than a day in cases of immediate danger to trees. Angela Branch, our project manager at the Angel Building in Islington, says,
‘Our site is in the centre of north London, so the magnificent lining of trees around it is highly prized, and of course, protected by preservation orders. We have built a protected roadway around the trees, installed temporary irrigation systems and marked prohibited zones to avoid vehicles offloading near the roots. Regular inspections are conducted by the local authority. There will be more trees planted around the building to complete the landscaping.’
In the UK newts are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Habitat Regulations Act 1994. Sarah Payne, our project manager at the BAE site near Preston in Lancashire, explains how newts affected them:
‘Even the suggestion of newts on site can be expensive. Newts are a protected species and it’s an offence to catch, handle, possess them or disturb their habitat. BAM has been working closely on a large scheme with BAE Systems?with?a known presence of Great Crested?newts on site, the client required a licence from Natural England to relocate them. The ecological consultant needed to set?humanely?designed traps?to?catch?any newts, and the site had to go 25 days newt free before works in that area could re-commence. The newt fences and monitoring can result in substantial time and cost implications for the project. The earlier you discover wildlife the more you can anticipate and prepare for the presence of a protected species.’
BAM teams are often involved with bat surveys prior to demolition, assisting specialists or working with consultants on bird surveys before felling trees. Our design business ensures that planning conditions about the natural environment are reflected in our works. Sometimes a team can go further where it sees a special case such as they did in Solihull where BAM Properties and BAM Construction developed office complex ‘Fore’. Jay Roberts, the Project Manager, explains:
‘We had a lot of wildlife at Fore which was a greenfield site. We asked the Environment Agency and Natural England for advice and they identified a need for bat, bird and bee boxes and routes for the resident wildlife. We had to protect and re-locate a badger – we were pleased to see he came back after construction finished – and we built a walk-way for the otters on site using sandbags.
‘We cleaned up the surrounding areas adjacent to the site for neighbours on World Environment Day, with help from kids from three schools, and redirected the run-off water from the A34 which was discharging directly into the river Blythe into a system of settlement ponds constructed within the flood plain. Within the ponds are reeds and grasses which grow and act as a natural filter and cleaning system assisted by the UV treatment from the sun so that the river in this part will be free from pollution. At the end BAM will give back 21 out of 27 acres to the community as a country park and plant trees. The wildlife is flourishing already - it’s a fantastic place to work.’
Building student residences for the University of East London’, says design manager, Chris Harrop, ‘the BAM team created a “brown roof” designed to protect the nesting place of a very rare Black Redstart. This bird is listed on Schedule 1 of the Act as a ‘fully protected species’ and is a rarer British breeding bird than the osprey or golden eagle. There are only 100 nesting pairs in Britain.
‘We constructed the brown roof by placing local site debris, including loose aggregate, soil and rubble, on the waterproofed and protected concrete slab allowing the bird to remain adjacent to open water (the?Royal Albert Dock) near to midges, gnats and other insect food.
‘London is the most important locality for this species in Britain with 10-30% of the national breeding population. The regeneration of its natural habitat within the Thames Corridor means that planning policy has to take this into account. It certainly left us with some nice memories such as the looks of incredulity from the adjacent DLR passengers!’