Green build NEWS

The biodiversity features at Waitrose' lowest carbon store to date include a living wall, hedgerows instead of fences and bat and bird boxes enhance the store’s environment and foster the local ecosystem.

The car park even includes a space designed for insects and other bugs. Named ‘the bug hotel’ and made with the help of local school children from Bracknell, the telephone box sized space contains sub-compartments, each designed to encourage different species to make the box their habitat.

The living wall was installed by Hedera Screens and uses Mobilane live panels. Each section includes a substrate which makes sure the plants thrive rather than survive. Katherine Moore, business development manager at Hedera said: “It takes very little effort to maintain given that it has a fully automated irrigation system within the rooting substrate which also provides the plants with essential nutrients.”