Soils provide a multitude of important functions for society including playing a key role in tackling both the climate and biodiversity emergencies. Yet, soil is routinely undervalued, damaged and disposed of during planning and construction.

Whilst only a small fraction of land is built upon, the scale of damage done to this non-renewable resource and living ecosystem is vast. Almost thirty million tonnes of soil is sent to landfill in the UK every year – ten times greater than estimates of what is lost from landscapes via soil erosion.

In this webinar, learn more about why soils matter for sustainable development, and discuss a new set of recommendations, developed between academic and industry experts, that can help guide built development policy and delivery towards better protected, healthier soils supporting positive places to work and live.

Speakers include:

• Prof. John Quinton, Lancaster University;
• Noel Farrer, Landscape Institute Vice President and Director, of Farrer Huxley;
• Nick Willenbrock, Director at Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments (CL:AIRE);
• Birgit Höntzsch, Cornwall Council.

About us

The Soils in Planning and Construction Task Force is made up of professionals from across soil science, local authorities, landscape architecture, masterplanning and urban design. The task force has come together to drive better management of soils through the planning and construction stages of development projects. The aim is to protect and improve our vital soil resources, enabling soils in the built environment to function and provide crucial ecosystem services that support thriving places for people and nature.

The project has been supported by a Lancaster University EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account, Lancaster City Council, Cornwall Council, Farrer Huxley and JTP, as well as the EPSRC project Soil-Value and the UKRI project Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centre For Mineral-based Construction Materials. www.lancaster.ac.uk/soilstaskforce