A Cornwall housebuilder has signed up to a major new initiative to support wildlife on its new developments.

The Homes for Nature commitment will see a bird-nesting brick or box installed for every new home built, as well as hedgehog highways created as standard on every new development taken through planning from September 2024.

Barratt David Wilson Homes, along with 18 other housebuilders that collectively build more than 90,000 homes a year, have already signed up to the voluntary commitment, with the move representing a major step towards providing the minimum of 300,000 nesting bricks and boxes thought to be required to support swift populations and many more bird species across the country.

In addition to integrated nest bricks, boxes and hedgehog highways, homebuilders are encouraged to incorporate additional features such as bat roosts, insect bricks and hibernacula. Away from the home, nature-led sustainable urban drainage systems and pollinator-friendly landscaping help to make even more homes for nature on new developments.

Homes for Nature was developed by the industry led ‘On Site Nature Measures Working Group’, convened by the Future Homes Hub, an independent organisation established to enable the new homes sector to meet the climate and environmental challenges.

The commitment is in addition to the recently implemented biodiversity net gain regulations, which require all new developments to achieve 10 per cent more wildlife.

Nicki Reid, sales director for Barratt David Wilson Homes Exeter, said: “Nature underpins our economy, provides the food, clean air and water we all need and yet everywhere it is under intense threat. Through Homes for Nature, we are making a small change, but that small change could create a significant benefit for nature and for the people who come to live in the communities we develop.”

Ed Lockhart, chief executive of the Future Homes Hub, added: “Homes for Nature is a fantastic opportunity to create many more homes for wildlife, bring people closer to nature and at the same time provide a helping hand to some much-loved and critically endangered species.

“Barratt David Wilson Homes’ commitment to install integral nest bricks or boxes and creating hedgehog highways as standard is a simple but effective way to support our precious wildlife, including the iconic swift and hedgehog.”

The scheme will come into effect in September 2024 for all new planning applications. The initiative will run until at least 2030, with annual reporting to track progress and to identify further suitable measures that could be introduced to support other wildlife.

Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes are currently building new homes for Cornwall at Treledan in Saltash.

The commitment currently applies to low rise houses, with further work underway with industry to identify an appropriate nature positive approach for new apartments and high-rise buildings.