Shinfield-Spencers Wood, Berkshire

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A large housing development was planned on land between the villages of Shinfield and Spencers Wood, to the south of the M4 and Reading. As well as residential zones, some of the land was designated for improvement as SANGs land to compensate for green space lost to housing. Outside of the core residential area there were other designated SANGs plots, adjoining the River Lodden, as well as a proposed new science park at Lane End Farm and a new access road to provide a transport link with the M4. 

The footprint of the development was extensive and although the majority of the land was low-lying arable, there were areas of greater ecological interest including aquatic habitats: an old reservoir, several small streams, ponds and some of the field boundary ditches. There were also flooded hollows present in the spring which provided ephemeral refugia for pioneer species, rapidly declining within the lowland British landscape. Surveys of the floral and aquatic invertebrate interest within these habitats were carried out to provide input to the extensive EcIA being undertaken across the site by a multi-disciplinary team headed by EPR.

Follow-up surveys during 2019 also assessed the aquatic biodiversity of newly created balancing ponds and ditches on SANG land acquired for the project.