Biodiversity Makeover Housing Estates in Fingal

Fingal County Council is looking for resident associations to put forward their estate for a biodiversity makeover. Urban areas offer great opportunities for wildlife. However, it is not always clear how to create the ideal urban habitat for a wide range of species. To this end, Fingal County Council wishes to undertake a biodiversity makeover of three housing estates in Fingal to determine the most cost effective way to make a housing estate more biodiversity friendly. The makeover will cover the open spaces and front gardens of those interested in making their own gardens more biodiversity friendly. The species groups being targeted are breeding birds, bats, amphibians (frogs and newts) and insects (bees & butterflies). Biodiversity improvement measures include meadows, tree & scrub planting, ponds & wetlands, log piles, bird & bat boxes, hedgehog highways, pollinator friendly garden planting. The makeover should not only make the open space more interesting for wildlife, it should also make the open space more interesting and pleasing to look at for the local residents.

The process

Interested Resident Associations are invited to submit an application form and the Council will select three housing estates that offer good wildlife enhancement opportunities and have good support from local residents for this initiative. Once the three housing estates are selected, a landscape architect will work with the local residents to re-design their open space and an ecologist will carry out a baseline survey to see what wildlife is there at the moment. The design is to be done over the summer months and we hope to carry out the improvement works in early autumn. Fingal will be monitoring the wildlife in the housing estate over the next 5 years to see which measures have the most beneficial impact on wildlife. The Council is keen to involve the residents in the monitoring of the wildlife species, so that they can get a good understanding what wildlife lives on their doorstep.

How to apply:

Resident Associations can fill in the application form here https://forms.office.com/e/k5P7EgKkfP

The deadline for submitting the application form is 2nd May 2025. Should you have any queries regarding this initiative please email [email protected]

Public Information webinar

A public information webinar is taking place on the 17th April at 7.30pm to answer any questions residents and resident associations might have regarding the biodiversity makeover initiative. To attend this webinar, please click on the following link on the 17th April at 7.30pm: https://streamyard.com/watch/idZKRNqK2nTt (no advance booking required)

Application Criteria / Rules:

Your housing estate has to be in County Fingal
The Council is not looking for estates that only look for the development of small patches of wildflower meadow. We are looking to provide a range of habitats in estates where there is a genuine need for structural change to the open space and front gardens to improve the estate for biodiversity.
There is no fee for resident associations to participate in the biodiversity makeover. The Council will fund all the biodiversity enhancements to the open space in the estate.
For those residents interested in a front garden makeover, the council will fund for 50% of the costs, while the homeowner will have to pay the other 50%. The homeowner will be responsible for the maintenance of the front garden once the works are completed.
Council managed estates will be prioritized over private estates or estates still maintained by a developer.
Lands owned by Schools, Businesses and/or Charities are not eligible for a biodiversity makeover.
The Council will select three housing estates in Fingal for a biodiversity makeover
It is expected that a residents association consults with local residents before applying for the biodiversity makeover to gain consensus for the application of the local residents. The design of the makeover will be resident led to ensure that the design meets the requirements of the local residents. However, the County Council reserves the right to select a different housing estate if there is a lot of opposition to biodiversity improvements within the estate.
Application forms submitted after the 2nd May 2025 will not be considered

Key selection criteria

Who is currently responsible for the management of the open space (100 points)
What range of the biodiversity improvements can be incorporated in the housing estate (300 points)
Are there ecological corridors near the housing estate/open space that would facilitate colonisation of species (100 points)
Has the Resident Association consulted with local residents before making the application and is there support by local residents for this initiative? (300 points)
What is the motivation for participating in the biodiversity makeover (200 points)