Recently Paul and Grace from our Ecology team, spent some time visiting Meadfleet developments in the East Midlands area with Regional Managers Victoria and Stefan to assess biodiversity on our open spaces. On one development we had received reports from our customers about potential sightings of otters (Lutrinae), and set out to investigate.
We visited the development near Leicester. A local resident had reported seeing an otter in a Meadfleet balancing pond, and so we assessed the site. Our desk study revealed that otters have been recorded using the nearest main river, and that a network of watercourses and ditches provide connectivity across the landscape. We checked the areas around the inlets and outlets of the pond for evidence of the presence of otter. We found no spraint (otter poo) but did find some otter footprints adjacent to a weir. We decided to install some trail cameras to try to obtain some footage, one over the open water of the pond and one where the footprints were found.
A couple of weeks later the cameras were collected and the footage checked. Mute swans and moorhens were recorded on the open water, but no otters. Finally after looking through hundreds of video clips footage of an otter crossing the weir was found! We will be installing some information signage and adapting our management of the area to ensure that the potential of disturbance of the otters is minimised.
We are delighted that rare, legally-protected species are using our open spaces, and look forward to enhancing the habitats to benefit these target species and general biodiversity. Our Ecology Team hold licences from Natural England to work with amphibians such as; Great Crested Newts (Triturus cristatus) and other legally protected species, and have extensive knowledge and experience of habitat management and creation.
Read more about our approach to managing open spaces sustainably
Find out more about otters on The Otter Trust website.
About Meadfleet
Meadfleet are a leading sustainable land-adopting management company. We have in-house ecologists with expertise in the BNG metric and are already applying the principles of Biodiversity Net Gain across our existing open space portfolio in England and Wales. Established in 1995, Meadfleet manage over 330 developments and 42,000 residential properties in our portfolio, with a strong balance sheet.
Meadfleet offers management of Biodiversity Net Gain delivery both on a managed development and on offsite areas, either via customer contributions or commuted sums. Our adoption model relieves developers of ongoing liabilities and management costs.
The Meadfleet model removes onerous liabilities from homeowners yet still encourages their input and engagement into the management of their local environment. We are committed to providing an excellent service to residents as demonstrated by our Excellent rating on Trustpilot and are members of The Property Ombudsman Scheme (TPOS), offering customers free, independent redress should they feel it is required. We are happy to work with residents groups and positively encourage the creation of these on the developments we are involved with. We believe this opens an effective two-way dialogue between homeowners and ourselves.
As a land-adopting management company, Meadfleet take long-term responsibility of open space, building customer and community relations and implementing perpetual management and improvement plans. We take a holistic and independent approach to managing areas of open space for the benefit of all residents, biodiversity and the wider environment.