Wykeland and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust announce pioneering partnership to put nature at heart of projects

The agreement builds on more than a decade of successful collaboration between the two organisations and aims to ensure commercially successful development and ecological enhancement go hand in hand.

The innovative Ecology and Biodiversity Framework Agreement is a progressive and formal partnership which commits the two organisations to work together constructively to steward wildlife and natural habitats alongside the delivery of sustainable, commercially-viable developments. 

The agreement with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, which is dedicated to conserving and restoring wildlife and natural habitats, commits Wykeland to embedding ecological principles across the company’s entire portfolio of developments.

Representatives from Wykeland and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust came together for an event at Wykeland’s Bridgehead business park in Hessle, East Yorkshire, to celebrate over a decade of partnership between the organisations, introduce the new agreement and formally sign it. 

Wykeland, one of the Yorkshire and Humber region’s leading property development and investment businesses, and the Trust have worked closely together since 2013 to demonstrate how commercial development and environmental stewardship delivers better outcomes for both wildlife and people. 

A flagship project from their collaboration has been a 1km nature trail at Bridgehead, near the Humber Bridge, designed and created by Wykeland, working in partnership with the Trust. The Trust manages the pathway and its surrounding natural habitat on behalf of Wykeland, promoting wildlife diversity and preserving the local flora and fauna.

Children from local schools work on annual projects, funded by Wykeland, to create art installations to animate the wildlife trail. Wykeland has also worked with community volunteering charity, The Conservation Volunteers, as well as local primary schools to create the Jubilee Woodland, which features 1,200 trees and borders Wykeland’s Melton West business park in East Yorkshire. The Jubilee Woodland is part of The Queen’s Green Canopy, created in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.

Following the Bridgehead partnership, the relationship is now focussed on new urban and industrial projects in the Yorkshire region. 

A major element of the new agreement is the integration of the Trust’s expertise at the earliest stages of Wykeland’s design and development processes, as a constructive and critical friend.

Wykeland will actively involve the Trust from the initial planning and design phases, ensuring that ecological considerations are prioritised in new and existing projects, including developments such as Bridgehead, Melton West, the Fruit Market urban village in Hull, and Europarc in Grimsby.

Wykeland Managing Director Dominic Gibbons said: “We’re delighted to be continuing our work with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to enhance not just our future developments, but also our existing ones. 

“We’re committed to ensuring all our developments benefit the businesses that occupy them, and the people who work in and use them, as well as enriching the natural environment. 

“This new agreement builds on the great work we’ve done with the Trust over the past 10 years. It commits our team and the Trust to work even more closely together across our entire portfolio to create commercially successful and attractive places where both people and nature thrive.” 

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is a charity dedicated to conserving, protecting and restoring wildlife and wild places in Yorkshire. It looks after more than 100 nature reserves across Yorkshire and is involved in hundreds of other conservation-related projects. 

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Chief Executive Officer Rachael Bice said: “Driving better outcomes for wildlife in new development is critical and possible, even when there is pressure for strong economic growth and more homes. 

“The relationship we have built with Wykeland shows solutions can be found for ecologically sensitive development when professionals bring together their different perspectives, that benefit wildlife and create attractive, healthier places where people want to live and work.”

A key focus will be on considering the landscape context of new developments to ensure they are locally appropriate and offer long-term ecological management, creating functional green spaces that benefit both people and wildlife. The Trust will bring nature’s needs into the design, construction and management practices to enhance space for nature across all projects.

Wykeland Project Manager Tom Cannon said: “Wykeland aims to lead the way in creating developments where occupiers can enjoy daily interactions with nature, fostering a sense of wellbeing while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the environment. 

“By working together with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, we are setting a new benchmark for how the property sector can incorporate high-quality landscaping and ecological principles into commercial developments.”

Hull-based Wykeland has an exceptional track record of delivering transformative projects with outstanding sustainability and biodiversity credentials that create a legacy of regeneration, job creation and economic growth.

The partnership with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust underscores Wykeland’s ongoing commitment to creating projects where people and nature thrive together, both today and in the future.  

The agreement has three key themes:

• Gains for Nature – protecting and enhancing nature on sites.
• Rewilding Lives – helping occupiers enjoy daily opportunities to experience wildlife and feel closer to nature.
• Flourishing Legacy – creating management regimes to ensure green spaces are well-maintained and where nature and people thrive together, long after completion of a development.

Following the event, guests were invited to visit the Bridgehead woodland trail and see how the partners have created a thriving natural environment for workers and visitors to the site to enjoy.