Cator Park at Kidbrooke Village, Berkeley’s flagship net biodiversity gain project in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, has been awarded the prestigious ‘Sir David Attenborough Award for Enhancing Biodiversity’ and the ‘Overall President’s Award’ at the recent Landscape Institute Awards.
Kidbrooke Village is set in 136 acres of green and open space, which comprises areas of grassland, meadow and wetland rich in plant and wildlife. In partnership with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Berkeley has worked with London Wildlife Trust and HTA Design to rewild Cator Park, increasing biodiversity and encouraging birds, mammals and insects to nest amongst the ponds, wetlands, trees and wildflowers. The park also has a new play area developed in collaboration with Apes Adventure Playground Engineers (designers of the Olympic Park Playground).
On completion, Kidbrooke Village will have achieved a net biodiversity gain of over 200%. It is the first of Berkeley Group’s 40 net biodiversity gain projects to reach maturity. Together these projects will create 480 acres of new or improved natural habitats.
The ‘Sir David Attenborough Award for Enhancing Biodiversity’ celebrates projects which emphasise the enhancement or connectivity of habitats for biodiversity, while the ‘Overall President’s Award’ recognises the best landscape scheme of the year as selected by the President of the Landscape Institute.
These awards round off a successful month for Berkeley’s Kidbrooke Village after it won the Pineapple Award for Contribution to Place earlier in November.
Karl Whiteman, Divisional Managing Director at Berkeley East Thames, said: “Berkeley has made a commitment to ensure all our new developments create a net biodiversity gain, and it’s fantastic to see this come to fruition at Cator Park and Kidbrooke Village. Thanks to our partnership with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, HTA Design and London Wildlife Trust, Cator Park is a fantastic haven for nature, where new species are thriving. The park is a beautiful, biodiverse space that is loved by the community, and we are delighted to see its impact recognised with this new award.”
James Lord, Partner at HTA Design, said: “I’m over the moon that Cator Park has won the prestigious Sir David Attenborough for Enhancing Biodiversity and the overall President’s Award. Cator Park is a celebration of the outdoors, blending play provision with the natural ecology and heritage of the site. Bringing wildlife back into the city and people and nature together, Cator Park demonstrates how the development of brownfield sites can contribute to wider biodiversity gains within cities and build sustainable communities. Many congratulations to the team at Berkeley, London Wildlife Trust, HTA Design and everyone else who worked so hard to make the project such a success.”
The Landscape Institute Awards celebrate the value of landscape in connecting people, place and nature. The virtual ceremony on 26 November was presented by Countryfile’s Julia Bradbury, alongside special guest Rebecca Pow MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
