Will Forest City harm nature and wildlife?

The opposite. Forest City includes a 12,000 acre nature reserve, which would be the single largest land-based nature reserve in England.

This isn't the usual developer routine of bulldozing a site and planting a few saplings around the edges. The plan works with what's already there: every acre of existing woodland is kept and protected. Ancient hedgerows, trees and woodland soil are preserved without exception. Lost woodland, ponds, and wetlands will be restored to a baseline from the year 1880. The River Stour runs through the reserve with a 100 metre buffer either side. Beavers, storks, and otters will be reintroduced to a landscape that was once theirs only a few generations ago. Any trees or hedgerows that have to be removed will be replaced with plantings that provide the same carbon, ecological and ecosystem benefits within 10 years.

And unlike the vague biodiversity promises that come with most developments, these standards will be legally enforceable through Nature Covenants, with targets negotiated with Natural England: Local Nature Reserve standard within 5 years, National Nature Reserve within 10, SSSIs within 25. If we miss them, we can be held to account in law.