REDHILL BUSINESS PARK INTRODUCTION Redhill Business Park was developed by Staffordshire County Council with Balfour Beatty as the main contractor. The business park land is situated on the northern edge of Stafford with developed employment land to the south and the M6 and A34 on each side. The site included three blocks of woodland and a series of poor-semi-improved grazed fields. Several ponds were present and one of the woodlands is willow carr with a species- rich ground flora and associated wet grassland designated as a Site of Biological Importance (LWS). To the north extends a farmed landscape with arable fields and pasture and a scattering of ponds. The site supports a medium population of great crested newts, part of a local meta-population which extends to the north and south. ECOLOGY FROM THE OUTSET The project was informed at the earliest stage by ecological assessment allowing business park layout and design to accommodate habitat and species requirements. Ecology was listed as item No.1 on all contractor progress meetings and this small act had large impact on how the whole project team approached ecological matters on the site. Business Park layout was designed not only to maintain the great crested newt ponds and sufficient terrestrial habitat, but to maintain ecological connectivity within and outside of the site and to enhance habitat quality for the newts along with increased habitat diversity. Removal of a small area of broad leaved woodland was mitigated by planting a network of native trees and shrubs around development plateaux and a large copse retained within the site as a significant landscape feature. A challenge was to maintain the hydrology of the wet woodland LWS as drainage patterns were altered due to development. A SuDS system that includes a series swales and spreader ditches was designed to provide a similar overland flow of water into the wet woodland with the aim of maintaining the fluctuating hydrological regime that was in place prior to development. In addition to the creation of new ponds for great crested newts, which was part of licensed works, SuDS features were designed to benefit amphibians. They have also proved to be good habitat for Odonata with eight species recorded in 2015, just a year after installation. Colonisation of ponds and spreader ditches by native aquatic plants was rapid. Species include water crowfoot and pondweeds and abundant reedmace which has brought forward maintenance requirements. IMPLEMENTATION With Staffordshire Wildlife Trust involvement, green hay from Mottey Meadows SAC to the southwest of Stafford, was used to establish a species-rich sward to complement retained grassland. Eighteen months on, this is establishing well. The development involved the loss of areas of grassland that formed relatively low quality terrestrial habitat. The creation of species-rich grassland, managed on a hay meadow regime around ponds and SuDS features has resulted in higher quality terrestrial habitat now being available. Other elements of the project include footpaths through the woodlands, seats carved from trees felled on site and 21 bat boxes installed on woodland edges. All landscape planting is of native species, indigenous to the area. MONITORING Initial monitoring results are encouraging with post-construction numbers of GCN’s actually showing an increase. As part of connectivity for great crested newts, two ACO tunnels were installed under the spine road. The use of these tunnels is being monitored by Froglife and Apex Ecology. An innovative camera system has been installed and this will form part of a Froglife national monitoring project of road crossings for amphibians. Early results are encouraging with four amphibian species (including GCN’s) recorded using the tunnels as well as a variety of mammals including badgers and bank voles. The County Council has retained ownership of the green infrastructure and will manage the habitats and SuDS features under a Landscape and Ecological Management Plan. Guidance was provided to plot occupiers regarding principles for plot landscaping. THE FUTURE Interest in the plots on the business park is very high and the first buildings are currently under construction. The County Council continues to liaise with occupiers and their contractors to ensure environmental constraints are observed and assets appreciated. The project shows that a successful business park can be created that does not compromise ecological quality and provides environmental as well as economic benefits.