黑洞社区

The UK property industry has been urged to play a bigger role in protecting biodiversity in the UK鈥檚 towns and cities.

The UK Green 黑洞社区 Council (UKGBC) has called for a renewed focus on biodiversity after publishing a report that found introducing green infrastructure to the built environment can potentially increase the value of land and property in the immediate vicinity.

The report, Demystifying Green Infrastructure, is aimed at convincing property developers and clients to identify the business risks from failing to incorporate adequate green infrastructure into building projects 鈥� such as delays in planning, increased costs and reputational damage.

Green infrastructure can include anything from green walls or roof terraces and can range in scale from a single feature to streets, parks and private gardens. The report states that the benefits of green infrastructure can be seen through the lifecycle of a building and include improved health and wellbeing, reduced energy consumption and maintenance costs.

The risks of not including green infrastructure include more difficult planning negotiations, flooding and reputational damage.

John Alker, director of policy and communications and acting chief executive of UKGBC, said:  鈥淲e have to shed the image of green infrastructure as a fluffy optional extra, an additional cost or an unnecessary burden.

鈥淭here are a growing number of clients and developers demonstrating that green infrastructure is absolutely central to quality place-making, and that there is a clear business case for it. This has to become the norm.鈥�