Renaturing wows judges of Green Project of the Year award

A renatured, rural, mixed-use redevelopment centred around a Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) habitat plan with benefits for the local community, ecology and environment is crowned winner of the Motion Green Project of the Year 2025 award.

Company Director, Rob Monie, reports, “The calibre of submissions for this award is always extremely high, and this year was no exception.  The winning project clearly demonstrated a strong focus on sustainability, innovation and environmental impact.”

The award submission centred on proposals for the sensitive redevelopment of a 120-acre redundant and dilapidated farm in Plummers Plain near Horsham in West Sussex.  No longer viable as a farm, a planning application has been submitted for the redevelopment of Stonehouse Farm and Lakes which, if approved, will result in three sustainable, energy-efficient detached houses, and two separate sympathetically designed business parks providing valuable rural offices, storage distribution and light industry space.

The registration of a biodiversity habitat scheme will secure a progressively renatured landscape for thirty years by way of a conservation covenant, to include newly planted woodland and hedgerows, scrub land, wildflower meadows and wetland scrapes.  A permissive recreational track will be incorporated into the renatured landscape and connected to the public footpath network providing all-weather access for those living and working in the immediate locality as well as the wider community.

Sustainable drainage strategies

Motion Technical Director, Phil Allen, nominated Stonehouse Farm and Lakes for the award and supported Lake Investments Ltd, part of The Hunter Group, with drainage advice.  Phil explains, “The challenge was to develop a sustainable drainage infrastructure strategy to satisfy current policy and regulatory requirements, while complementing the renatured landscape and biodiversity habitat scheme.”

Drainage and SuDS designs will capture and store surface water, helping to reduce pollution, runoff rates and flood risk.  Motion also conducted a full assessment of future foul waste requirements, preparing a specification to treat effluent to a high standard, ensuring sustainable discharge and improving the quality of local watercourses.

Image credit: © Lloyd Harden