Holdfast

Sustainable communities are an important facet of Holdfast's solution. Holdfast is committed to ensure that the RSME PPP can be delivered without compromising the future of local communities or the integrity of local areas of ecological, landscape and heritage value.

Sustainability and the environment go hand in hand and are part of the cultural mindset that permeates all our activities. The Holdfast solution will deliver this by minimising relocation and the impact of construction.

Holdfast believes that projects should be delivered in a manner that maximises the use of previous investment, minimising the need for new development and the disturbance this can cause to local military and civil communities. Our three site solution reflects this.

Proposals at Chatham include relocation of reptiles, and hand searching areas of suitable terrestrial habitat for great crested newts that may be affected. Vegetation removal will take place outside of the breeding bird season and new homes will be provided for bats and dormice if they are present on site and affected by the new development. Development is largely taking place on brown land already in military use rather than using a green field solution.

At Bicester, areas of ancient woodland and semi-improved grassland have been designated as county important wildlife sites and recommendations made for retention of these habitats. Further surveys for badgers, reptiles, great crested newts, dormice, water voles and detailed vegetation surveys will be carried out in spring and summer 2009.

Minley sits next to the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area. The area is important for its rich mosaic of habitat which in turn support populations of woodlark, nightjar and Dartford warbler.

Small populations of reptiles are present on site and bat and dormice surveys are ongoing in the areas of woodland on site. Dormice are protected throughout the rest of Europe, and although they have no legal protection in the UK, Holdfast will nonetheless relocate them to avoid any loss of nests, if required. Some trees with potential bat roosts may be affected and therefore these will be taken down in a sensitive manner following best practice guidelines and bat boxes installed in new locations.