23/04/2026
Call for housing providers to step up as nature crisis deepens
Daniel Salliss (BFL) gives an update on the organisation's biodiversity projects in the east of England to the audience at the 'Nature in Housing' summit, to mark Earth Day 2026 (image credit: BFL)
Housing providers have been called on to stand up for environmental protections and lead a sector-wide push for nature recovery, a summit of more than 50 housing and environment professionals has heard.
Daniel Salliss, Biodiversity and Land Manager at housing provider BFL (Bromford Flagship LiveWest), told delegates that housing and nature should be treated as partners, not rivals, and urged the sector to push back against any narrative that pits one against the other.
He said there was already strong work happening across housing, but the scale of the biodiversity crisis meant the whole sector needed to accelerate.
He said: “We’ve seen from our own work that when you give green spaces a chance to recover, the results come quickly. You get more wildflowers, more wildlife, and customers who really support the change.
“We’re working towards creating wildflower meadows across 1,200 sites by 2030 and managing our green spaces in more nature-friendly ways.
“It’s in the sector’s interest to keep backing nature recovery. It helps create stronger communities, supports people’s health and makes places more resilient to climate change.
“This event is about sharing what we’ve learned, hearing from others doing similar work, and figuring out together how to speed things up.
"Networks like the Biodiversity in Housing Network show just how much good work is already underway. The question now is how we all scale it up fast enough to match the pace of the crisis."
BFL’s Nature in Housing summit brought together groups such as Suffolk Wildlife Trust, CPRE Norfolk and the Norfolk and Suffolk Nature Recovery Partnership at the Food Museum in Stowmarket on Earth Day – 22 April.
Environmental consultancies and sustainability specialists, including Garden Organic, Greengage, Tranquil City and Wendling Beck, were also there, alongside other housing providers such as Clarion and Southern Housing.
he event took place at Stowmarket's Food Museum, where attendees were treated to a tour of the site's active composting area (BFL)
The summit comes as scientists warn Britain has just 20 years to halt a spiralling decline in wildlife, with 2050 described as a “point of no return” for dozens of native species. The UK has already lost more than half its natural biodiversity and is now one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.
Mr Salliss said the housing sector had a direct role to play in turning that around.
He said: “Housing providers manage enormous amounts of land. If we get the green spaces around our homes right, we can make a real difference to wildlife, help manage climate risks and improve people’s wellbeing.
"But this needs the whole sector pulling in the same direction, and it needs policy that treats nature as part of the solution, not something to be traded away when it's inconvenient."
The summit follows a similar event held at Pensthorpe Nature Reserve in March 2025. BFL plans to make it an annual fixture, with the aim of building a cross-sector network focused on practical action for nature in housing.
L-R: Henry Parkinson (Langley Abbey Environment Project), Pallavi Devulapalli (CPRE Norfolk), Jennifer Burlingham (Norfolk and Suffolk Nature Recovery Partnership, with microphone) and Morgan Taylor (Greengage) during one of the day's panels on delivering nature projects while navigating policy developments (BFL)