BARRATT Homes Eastern Counties is planting a range of bee friendly plants at its developments in Essex in an attempt to help save the British honey bee.
The housebuilder is working with the British Beekeepers’ Association and has pledged to plant a variety of bee friendly flowers and shrubs in the gardens of its sales office and show homes at developments including Evolve in Thurrock and Gloucester Gate in Basildon.
David Eardley, Managing Director at Barratt Homes Eastern Counties, said; “We take an enormous amount of pride in playing a role in raising the awareness of the dangers that the British honey bee is currently facing and as a result we are planting special plants in the gardens of our developments in Essex to support them.”
Honey bees are under threat from loss of habitat, weather and disease and their importance is often underestimated. One in three mouthfuls of food that we consume is reliant upon pollination, which includes our ‘five-a-day’. Everything from strawberries, apples, pears, chocolate, sweet peppers, chilies, margarine, mustard and herbs is reliant upon the services of honey bees and other pollinators.
Jane Moseley, Operations Director at the British Beekeepers’ Association, said; “Unfortunately honey bees are rare in the wild due to the threats of disease and lack of forage diversity. We don’t all have to be beekeepers to become keepers of bees. By providing plants that are in bloom from February right through to October, we are providing plentiful sources of pollen and nectar for honey bees and other pollinators.”
Barratt Homes has bee friendly gardens at Gloucester Gate in Basildon where a number of three bedroom homes are available and prices start from £274,995. For more information please call the sales line on 0844 8114888 between 8am-9pm Monday to Friday or 8am-8pm Saturday to Sunday. Alternatively please visit www.barratthomes.co.uk
Barratt Homes Eastern Counties has been awarded the maximum five star official rating from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) for the sixth year in a row. The news was announced after more than 20,000 new home buyers across the country took part in this year’s HBF customer satisfaction survey.
