This consultation is now closed.

A consultation on the delivery, management and maintenance of a building’s landscape and ecological habitats

Correctly managed and maintained external environments benefit us all socially, economically and environmentally. A key part of achieving this is through sound planning and management, and a Landscape and Habitat Management Plan can be a powerful tool in ensuring these outcomes. However, if not effectively handed over or implemented this will prevent the building’s external environment fulfilling its potential.

The benefits of a properly maintained external environment include:

  • Supporting an effective system of drainage and contributing to the management of flood risk
  • Green roofs and walls can provide additional insulation to the building fabric so improve efficiency and performance
  • Contributing to natural boundary protection and wildlife corridors
  • Improved health and wellbeing of people
  • Enhance the visual appeal of a building and its surroundings
  • Supporting a healthy local ecosystem and increased biodiversity

Often in practice the performance of a building and its landscaping does not fulfil its design aspirations. A number of issues can factor into this including inadequate handover of relevant information at appropriate stages and training of key staff.

There is a significant and growing body of work relating to the performance gap of a building’s internal systems (energy efficiency, thermal performance etc.). However, this is limited when considering the gap  between the intended and delivered outcomes in relation to a development’s external environment. BREEAM is working to expand knowledge in this area by focusing, in this instance, on the design, application, management and maintenance of a Landscape and Habitat Management Plan (LHMP).

Purpose of this Work and How to Participate

This work aims to;

  1. improve our understanding of the degree of success in creating and implementing Landscape and Habitat Management Plans during the different life cycle stages of a building (Design and Construction, Post Construction and Operation).
  2. identify whether a handover and implementation gap exists and therefore the degree to which planned and designed performance is implemented and the intended benefits realised.

To help achieve these aims we are seeking input from a range of construction, asset management, landscape and ecology professionals. Inparticular we would like your views on the degree to which landscape and habitat management plans are effectively handed over (during or post-construction) and their planned for performance /  benefits realised in operation.

The feedback we receive will be used to inform and refine the content and development of ecology-based assessment issues in the BREEAM, CEEQUAL and Home Quality Mark Schemes.

Findings from this work will also be used as the basis for a Master’s thesis in Building Surveying at Kingston University. The data received from this questionnaire will be anonymised so that the source will not be identifiable. Information that can be used to identify the individual, company and buildings will not be publicly released without prior consent from the respondee.

Getting involved

We are seeking contribution via an online survey from industry professionals who have been involved in the design, construction, operation and maintenance of buildings and developments to share their experiences. You do not need to have worked on or in a BREEAM assessed building or project to contribute, all views and experiences are welcomed.

Please select from the following according to your role, background and experience:

We encourage and welcome your contribution to this work.

Closes: 17th August 2018

Note: this consultation has been extended, the previous closing date was 8th June 2018.