Time to rethink the whole approach to gardens in new housing developments

Back in April, the results of the ‘Bugs Matter’ citizens survey were published, which again showed a very worrying decline in the numbers of flying insects in the UK – in fact a 63% reduction between 2021 and 2025. Many reasons have been given for this decline including modern intensive farming methods and loss of suitable habitats, but whatever the reasons, all of us need to be concerned. Indeed, as the organisation behind the survey, Buglife, makes clear, insects are essential because they pollinate crops, provide natural pest control, decompose waste and recycle nutrients, and underpin food chains that support birds, mammals and other wildlife.

With the government’s significant push and funding for an increase in housing developments announced recently, and with many of these developments being in rural areas, there is an obvious worry that this will only make matters worse for insect numbers due to the loss of habitat, and therefore other wildlife as well. However, our view at Vine House Farm is that there is actually an opportunity for new housing developments to play their part in reversing the decline.

We’ve also recently been encouraged to read about the efforts to make nesting bricks for Swifts in all new homes a legal requirement, and whilst the parliamentary bill still has some way to go, many housing developers have already taken a lead and included them in new properties. But Like many other species of bird which grace our skies, Swifts need insects in order to survive and breed, and any amount of new nesting sites isn’t going to increase insect numbers – for that we need a different approach to gardens and the land around the developments.

There’s long been a standard approach to gardens on new housing developments, which is basically some concrete paving slabs against the house, then a grass lawn for the rest of the space. Many new house owners – especially first-time buyers – don’t have the financial resources to quickly change that, and although many will improve their outdoor space over time, why not offer them something more wildlife-friendly from the outset? It’s not like it would cost any more than the slabs and lawn – and actually probably less – with examples being some native trees and shrubs, and even a small area of wildflower meadow.  All of this can be achieved, even in a small space, whilst still providing a play area for young children and space for entertaining etc. – read more on how to achieve this here.  

The traditional approach to open spaces in and around housing developments has often been just large areas of short grass, with scattered non-native trees. This approach has actually started to change for the better, with some local planners now insisting on at least some more relatively wild areas, with native tree planting, hedgerows and even ponds. We believe this trend should be taken further to help insect numbers and other wildlife, but also because it is often the only local environment where children will experience and appreciate a sense of nature.

Many home owners have already embraced the idea of cutting a small opening at the base of their boundary fence to allow Hedgehogs access to theirs and adjoining gardens, with whole neighbourhoods getting behind the initiative to create ‘Hedgehog highways’. What we’d like to see is housing developers making these unobtrusive openings in fences (they only need to be 13cm x 13cm) at the time the new fence is installed. Of course such an initiative doesn’t increase insect numbers, but it’s about the concept of changing people’s attitudes towards wildlife more generally and the role they can play in making a difference. It’s also the case that, like most species of insect and including bumble bees and species of solitary bees, Hedgehogs can’t live in sterile habitats which provide no food and shelter. As part of this thinking, laying off the herbicides and insecticides and instead adopting an organic approach to gardening, is unquestionably the way to go.

The interest in wildlife gardens has ballooned in recent years, which is clearly very welcome. But what often puts people off is the false belief that it’s an all-or-nothing approach, when in fact even allowing a small corner of a garden to become relatively wild can make a real difference to insect numbers and therefore help wildlife more generally. Then there are all the things that can be done to help in even a relatively formal garden, such as planting more native trees and shrubs – most of which will provide food and habitat for insects, and in turn for other wildlife. 

The final point we want to make is this: The drastic drop in insect numbers should be a wakeup call to all of us, and is of course a further measure of nature decline in general. In past decades there was perhaps a legitimate idea that nature conservation was the responsibility of specific organisations, key individuals and certain government departments. But those days are now long gone, and the reality has to be that reversing nature’s decline is the responsibility of us all, and even if the steps taken by housing developers and residents are relatively small in isolation, they all add up to make a bigger and positive difference.