Housing Minister Kit Malthouse was at Kidbrooke Village this week for an in-depth briefing on the transformation of the former Ferrier Estate and the creation of 52 acres of biodiverse parkland in the heart of Greenwich.
Mr Malthouse was met by Kidbrooke Village Resident Association Member Ann Buchanan, Berkeley Group Chairman Tony Pidgley CBE, Director of Development of the London Wildlife Trust (LWT) David Mooney and President of the Hedgehog Conservation Society Hugh Warwick, who is leading a national campaign to create more hedgehog friendly habitats.
A video from the visit can be viewed here.
The minister heard about Berkeley's partnership with the London Wildlife Trust and the Royal Borough of Greenwich, which has seen a predominantly concrete urban landscape change into a network of biodiverse parks, wetlands and natural habitats.
These green open spaces offer a welcoming amenity for the whole community to enjoy and will be the backdrop for almost 5,000 mixed tenure homes, which are currently being built across Kidbrooke Village.
At the heart of this new green infrastructure network is the 20 acre Cator Park, which connects two existing nature reserves, Kidbrooke Green and Birdbrook, to create a much larger territory for south east London wildlife.
This new parkland corridor includes naturalistic native planting, species-rich meadows, grasslands, wetlands and swales. It provides a diverse mix of habitats and food sources, with large areas deliberately left to grow wild so they can support more natural life.
All this has ensured that Kidbrooke Village has achieved a significant biodiversity net gain in line with targets set by the government's 25 Year Environment Plan.
Mr Malthouse said: "Kidbrooke Village is going to create about 5,000 homes and has been planned specifically to make space for wildlife.
We are very keen as a Government to make space for nature as we move towards building the homes that the next generation need so very urgently."
This biodiverse landscape strategy has gone hand-in-hand with a major community engagement programme, which has seen hundreds of local people get involved with the management and stewardship of these beautiful open spaces.
The parkland is also home to a regular programme of volunteering activities and community events, encouraging more people to come together and enjoy all the benefits of nature.
The Kidbrooke Village masterplan also incorporates green roofs, sustainable urban drainage systems and wildlife features such as swift nesting bricks and bee hotels.