Biodiversity Potential at Moor Allerton Golf Club

TEP supported Moor Allerton Golf Club in exploring the opportunity to establish a habitat bank across areas of land identified as surplus to operational requirements. As an active golf course, careful consideration was given to ensuring proposed habitat creation would not conflict with play or negatively affect member experience, while strengthening the Club’s long-term resilience.

Following an agreed scope of work, we identified site constraints and prepared high-level habitat mapping before undertaking detailed UK Habitat Classification surveys to verify condition and establish a robust baseline using the biodiversity metric. While much of the opportunity lay within unmanaged areas of the course, the Club also considered the proactive decommissioning of selected playing surfaces, creating space for a diverse mosaic of habitats that would complement the wider landscape.

We carried out River Condition Assessments of watercourses crossing the site and identified targeted enhancements to improve ecological value while aligning with the Club’s wider ambitions for the landscape. All enhancement proposals were tested through metric recalculations to quantify biodiversity uplift and establish a portfolio of units suitable for the natural capital market.

Long-term delivery was central to the strategy. Working closely with the Club’s professional Greenkeeping team, we explored future management responsibilities, resourcing implications and costings. This informed a detailed 30-year Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan, providing clarity, transparency and confidence in long-term stewardship.

Throughout the process, we maintained proactive engagement with the Local Planning Authority to ensure proposals aligned with local Biodiversity and Nature Recovery priorities. Legal agreements were secured to enable registration as a habitat bank, and we supported introductions to natural capital brokers to facilitate route-to-market discussions.

The result is a carefully considered, commercially viable habitat bank strategy, balancing recreation, ecological enhancement and long-term environmental responsibility.