A housing developer will be undertaking a major planting scheme on the edge of the city but environmentalists have raised a note of caution.

Housebuilder Barratt and David Wilson Homes will be planting around 400 new trees at the Woodland Heath development in Sprowston.

The estate - which is located off Salhouse Road - will also have 25 bird and bat boxes installed in addition to a number of hedgehog highways and log piles across the site.

The developer has also pledged to create an additional 1.5 hectares of wildflower meadow, which will help to support native pollinators including bees, butterflies and moths.

Norwich ecologist and author Kate Blincoe said: "It’s heartening to know that biodiversity is actively considered with these additions.

"It’s important to note that measures to provide habitat for wildlife can rarely replace established ecosystems that may be destroyed by development, so sensitive siting is critical.

Norwich Evening News: Kate Blincoe with her children Kate Blincoe with her children

"Truly sustainable housing will also include renewable and energy efficiency technologies as well as looking at the wider picture.

"For example how people are connected to amenities and green space without reliance on cars." 

It comes as Eleanor Laming, Green district councillor for the Brundall ward, has called for urgent action to make homes more energy efficient in the city.

She said she noticed a lack of solar panels on houses when she cycled along Salhouse Road this month.

The 535-home Woodland Heath site and other recent developments such as White House Farm means the population will continue to swell in Sprowston over the next decade.

The population of the suburban town has risen from around 2,350 in 1901 to just over 16,000 in 2019.

The Woodland Heath development is a mixture of two, three and four-bedroom homes.

Simon Wood, managing director at Barratt and David Wilson Homes Anglia, said: “As a leading housebuilder, we take great care in ensuring our developments are a place where nature can thrive.

Norwich Evening News: Simon Wood, managing director at Barratt and David Wilson Homes Anglia Simon Wood, managing director at Barratt and David Wilson Homes Anglia

“We see it as our responsibility to help preserve the environment which is why we invest months of planning into our developments, providing both wildlife and people with new homes.”