Canary Wharf Group and Eden Project partner to boost urban biodiversity

Property Developer Canary Wharf Group has partnered with the Eden Project to model how to boost biodiversity in urban environments.

The partnership is using Canary Wharf’s East London estate as the first testbed.

Under the partnership, Canary Wharf Group will install a range of new features at its namesake estate.

The group describes this site as a “green spine”.

Parks and gardens will expand, new terrestrial and marine plants will appear and waterside access will improve.

Learnings from this project will help create a blueprint for other urban areas to use in creating spaces that “work for nature as well as people”, Canary Wharf Group said in a statement.

Timelines for the creation of the blueprint have not yet been confirmed.

Transformational redevelopment

The partnership will also see the Eden Project using Canary Wharf as its London base.

This will help it extend engagement activities with the private sector and general public.

“Canary Wharf Group and the Eden Project are both based on the transformational redevelopment of a former industrial site into a world-renowned icon of regeneration; our exciting new partnership feels natural and vital,” said the Eden Project’s chief executive David Harland.

“Eden’s known track record in sustainability leadership aligned with the Canary Wharf Group’s consistently high sustainability ratings for their buildings offers a great platform upon which to build on.”

Generating biodiversity net gain

The partnership builds on Canary Wharf Group’s existing Biodiversity Action Plan. Published in 2018, the Action Plan spans through to 2028 and outlines how no new developments will gain approval unless they generate biodiversity net gain on-site.

The news comes as the Eden Project forges ahead with plans to develop a second UK base in Morecambe, Lancaster.

Eden Project North secured planning permission late last year. Securing funding is the next key hurdle for the project.

Read the full story here: Source: edie 11/04/22 Sarah George