Introducing Building with Nature, the UK's first green infrastructure benchmark
Building with Nature
We put nature at the heart of development in a way that’s good for people and for wildlife. We do that through the Building with Nature Standards, which provide planners and developers with evidence-based, how-to, guidance on delivering high quality green infrastructure.
Through supporting and championing best-practice, our aim is to help great schemes get built, raise the bar for industry, and mainstream green infrastructure in placemaking.
OUR mission
Our mission is to is to make high quality green infrastructure integral to placemaking in the UK, maximising benefits for both people and the natural world.
what we do
Using our Standards and supported by best-practice guidance, planning authorities, professional experts, and developers are delivering high quality green infrastructure.
The Building with Nature Standards show what good looks like at each stage of the development process.
Planning authorities are using them to develop and test new planning policy. Planners benefit from a clear picture of what good looks like, a shared framework of principles, and the ability to draw on supporting specialist knowledge they might not have in-house. We also have a bespoke training programme for planners to help build their capabilities.
Professional experts – ecologists, landscape architects, and planning consultants – use the standards to engage with clients and improve physical development. Many go through training to become Approved Assessors, so they can help their schemes get the Building with Nature Accreditation.
Developers who want to do great schemes find that getting Accredited by Building with Nature can reduce planning uncertainty, help to engage local communities, and attract consumers who value the benefits of living with nature.
OUR HISTORY
The Building with Nature initiative came out of a collaboration between Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and the University of the West of England. It was born out of a desire to have a proactive approach to nature-friendly development, sensitive to location and context, that cares about long-term maintenance and management.
Our Standards are underpinned by evidence and good practice, having been co-developed with local authorities, private sector developers, people and communities.
The framework has been tested and refined in multiple locations across the UK, with inner city regeneration projects, major urban extensions and strategic allocations, smaller in-fill development, and commercial facilities, demonstrating how using the Standards can deliver multiple benefits to both people and the natural world in a range of contexts.
Our People
The Building with Nature team combines passion with pragmatism and expertise with awareness. Led by green infrastructure expert Dr Gemma Jerome, and supported by staff and associates, the BwN team help developers, planners, and built and natural environment professionals to deliver places for people and wildlife.
Dr Gemma Jerome, FLI
Director
Gemma is an environmental planner with a specialism in the design, delivery, and stewardship of green infrastructure. She is a Fellow of the Landscape Institute, and co-chaired the British Standards Institute panel for the BS8683:2021 Process for designing and implementing Biodiversity Net Gain, and recently supported the RTPI/RSPB design code. Gemma has sat on various government roundtables and advisory panels offering expertise on design quality, and is currently supporting the development of the Natural England Green Infrastructure Standards Framework.
TIM BEVAN
Assistant Director
Over a 20-year career Tim has developed substantial expertise in the development and operation of technical standards that provide holistic and rigorous measurement and benchmarking of the sustainability-related impacts of the built environment. With several years’ director-level experience operating third-party accredited international certification schemes for commercial and residential development and real estate, Tim is ideally placed to support clients and assessors on their Building with Nature accreditation journey.
Catherine McGuire
Lead Auditor
Catherine brings a wealth of experience from a broad background in development management planning, ecology and conservation, specialising more recently in nature-based solutions in planning. A full member of CIEEM with over 14 years in the ENGO sector, and an Approved Assessor for Building with Nature, she is well-placed to support Assessors from pre-registration through to accreditation.
OUR GOVERNANCE
Building with Nature is a values and mission-led company, wholly owned by a registered charity - the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. By supporting and championing best-practice, our mission is to mainstream green infrastructure in placemaking in the UK, raising the bar for industry and maximising benefits for both people and the natural world.
Building with Nature has a Board of Trustees, whose professional specialisms span strategic planning, local authority management, regeneration, social housing, strategic development, charitable organisational management, natural environment, and sustainability.
Professor Peter Madden, OBE
Chair
Peter is Professor of Practice in City Futures at Cardiff University, Director of Vivid Futures, and sits on the Igloo Regeneration Footprint Advisory Board. He has previously been a Board Member for Crown Estate, CEO of Future Cities Catapult, CEO of Forum for the Future and Director of Green Alliance.
Clare Hebbes
Vice Chair
Clare’s career has focused on major projects, holding responsibility for the design, management and activation of the public realm and infrastructure across public spaces, with a portfolio including the redevelopment of Kings Cross, Heathrow Terminal 5, Battersea Power Station, Elephant Park and International Quarter London. Clare is currently the Director of Development at the London Legacy Development Corporation overseeing the development of the Olympic village.
Alex Willey
Board member
Alex is Director of Strategic Asset Management at Clarion Housing Group, the country’s largest affordable housing provider. She worked as a journalist before completing a master’s in Town Planning and moving into housing, heading up the sustainability team at Affinity Sutton. She is now part of Clarion’s regeneration team delivering projects around the country from Plymouth to Ealing. Prior to joining the Building with Nature board she was a Trustee for the UK Green Building Council.
Nigel Riglar
Board member
Nigel is Director of Environment and Community Services at South Gloucestershire Council, leading the delivery of the Council’s place based services. In the preceding 20 years he was variously the Commissioning Director for Communities and Infrastructure at Gloucestershire County Council, including being a LNP Board member, Stroud District Council’s Deputy Chief Executive and set up the Beacon Council Scheme for the Improvement & Development Agency.
Tian Ze Hao
Board member
Tian is Director of Operational finance for Torbay and South Devon NHS foundation Trust, leading the finance and procurement function delivering key priorities for the trust including financial sustainability and system wide integration. When Building with Nature becomes a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Tian will become Honorary Treasurer and Chair of Audit Committee.
Standards Board
Building with Nature has an expert Standards Board, with representatives from industry and government across the UK, whose role is to be guardians of the standards and review and update them in response to any changes in planning legislation and in the development sector to ensure that the Standards are robust and fit for purpose.
Peter Madden
Building with Nature Chair
Jan Bessell
Pinsent Masons
Mike Roberts
Vertigo
Richard Blyth
RTPI
Peter Geraghty
Hertsmere Borough Council
Ian Mell (Chair)
The University of Manchester
Elaine Creswell
Landscape Institute
Clare Warburton
Natural England
Nick Rogers
Taylor Wimpey
Melanie Dodd + Alastair Chapman
CIEEM (shared post)
Joanne Smith
The Welsh Government
Kuan Loh
The Scottish Government