Leweston School

Abbas worked with Leweston School on a new stable block and associated facilities. The old stable buildings were day and feeding roosts for five different species of bats including lesser horseshoes. Abbas secured a bat mitigation license for the school which included incorporating appropriate roosting features in the new building.

Woodland habitat was also affected by the proposals. Biodiversity Net Gain of over 10% was secured by planting new woodland and hedgerows. Management was improved in existing habitats by removing Cherry Laurel from woodland and enhancing grassland as part of the management of wood parkland habitats. The habitats at the school are currently being managed under an agreed Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan (HMMP) drafted by Abbas Ecology.

Dorset County Hospital

Abbas have been working on the Dorset County Hospital Development Project since 2019 and have delivered a wide range of advice and survey support. This includes bat surveys, botanical surveys, advice on wildlife shelters, wildflower planting, calculation of eco credits for the BREEAM assessments and biodiversity net gain.

The demolition of the old school was supervised by Abbas working alongside Tilbury Douglas contractors with an ecological schedule of works to protect nesting sparrows until their young had fledged. Their habitat was replaced with suitable shrub planting and the provision of sparrow terraces.

The multi-storey car park includes a wildflower planting, swift nest blocks, bee bricks and climbing plants. Future developments at the hospital will include a wildlife garden, native hedgerows, sympathetic lighting, and retention of tree corridors for night creatures such as bats. These features are covered by ‘Biodiversity Plans’ to guide their development.

Curtis Fields

Curtis Fields is a new housing development of 665 units in Weymouth. Prior to planning permission, we carried out a range of survey work including dormice, foraging bats, botany and reptiles.

Post planning, we have been working alongside the developer, Betterment and the land manager to implement and review the management plan, drafted by Abbas. This includes an extensive ecological clerk of works covering the protection and enhancement of a chalk grassland county wildlife site. We have also guided the spread of existing wildflower communities, reducing the need to buy in external seed, translocated a reptile population to a retained area in this 38ha site and overseen the planting and enhancing of hedgerows throughout the site.

Waterside Holiday Park

Abbas Ecology has been involved in three separate planning applications at Waterside Park at their Bowleaze and Chesil Beach locations. Currently we are providing advice and returning compliance reports back to the LPA on wildflower meadow creation, grazing, hedgerows and features for swallows, bats and reptiles.

Waterside has extensively used wildflower planting and included a pond in their Stables Lodges location this is next door to the nature area with wildflower meadow.