Why soil needs to be considered from the start of a development project

8 Oct 2026

Soil usually enters the conversation too late, especially on construction projects, once attention has shifted to earthworks, cut and fill, foundations and engineering. But what lies beneath a site does far more than hold things up.

Soil conditions influence:

– The habitats that will establish

– The trees that will thrive

– How drainage performs

– How successful a landscape will be over time

When those conditions aren’t understood early enough, a design might look right on paper but run into problems later. Planting could struggle, and habitat creation might not perform as expected.

That’s why you should consider soil as part of the site’s baseline from the start.

What’s beneath the site affects what happens above it

Understanding what’s already there gives the wider project team better information to work with from the get-go. It means decisions can be based on the conditions of the site, rather than assumptions about what might work.

Soil that’s poorly understood can create problems later in the project. That can lead to additional maintenance or changes to the design and, in some cases, planning or construction delays.

As Jack Jewell, our Landscape and Arboriculture Director, puts it, “Poorly understood soils mean poor habitat outcomes.”

Knowing the baseline gives teams a better chance of making the right decisions. For example, understanding the soil can help inform which tree species are most suited to the site and what management might be appropriate for the habitats being created.

Consider soil while plans are taking shape

Understanding the soil can inform biodiversity net gain, flood mitigation, habitat creation, tree planting and landscape design, as well as help sites respond to climate change.

Earthworks are the physical changes made to the ground as part of a development, such as moving or adding soil. However, by the time they’re underway, there may be less scope to change the plans around what’s already there.

When soil is considered from the beginning, the project team has something useful to work with as the design develops, whether that’s deciding which habitats to create, which trees to retain or plant, how a landscape should work or how drainage or SuDS could be designed.

It’s far easier to make those decisions while the plans are still taking shape. Once work has started, changing direction is likely to be more difficult and more expensive.

One soil baseline, multiple disciplines

A good soil assessment doesn’t just give one part of the project more information. The same baseline can be useful across several areas of the design.

Ecology and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)

Things such as drainage characteristics, nutrient status and organic matter can help establish existing habitat conditions and what habitats could realistically be created.

Arboriculture

Soil conditions can help inform rooting depth, available soil volume, drainage, root protection, tree retention and appropriate species selection.

Landscape Planning

Understanding the soil helps ensure planting, tree pits and wider landscape proposals can establish successfully.

Green + Blue Infrastructure

Soil characteristics affect drainage, surface water, SuDS, flood mitigation and wider climate resilience.

As Jack explains, “one robustly obtained baseline can be used by many people to factor into their designs and their advice.”

That’s particularly useful when those people are working within the same team. When we’re included from the start, the same soil information can be used across our in-house disciplines, helping us to make decisions about the site with the same understanding of what’s already there.

We’re already using soil information to help shape ongoing projects.

What this looks like on active projects

Using soil data to inform habitat creation

On one planning allocation, the county ecologist requested soil sampling during the ecology pre-application stage. The aim was to understand whether the site was suitable for acid grassland creation.

We used LandIS data alongside physical soil sampling across four fields, with laboratory analysis looking at factors including pH, organic matter, soil texture, bulk density and nutrients.

The findings are helping us understand which habitats are likely to establish successfully in different parts of the site and what management they could need.

The proposed habitat creation includes acid grassland, neutral grassland, wetland and woodland. The site hasn’t yet gone into planning, but the soil information is already helping shape the proposals for a future application

Using soil analysis to inform BNG Habitat Banks

Two BNG Habitat sites have a history of agricultural management, so understanding the soil is important when deciding which habitats are realistic targets.

Analysis of nutrients, phosphates and pH, alongside our detailed botanical surveys, has helped establish the baseline and identify habitats with a strong likelihood of success.

This has supported proposals for High and Very High distinctiveness habitats, including Lowland Meadow and Calcareous Grassland.

Neither Habitat Bank is registered yet, but the work shows how soil information can help shape ambitious habitat targets while keeping those decisions grounded in the conditions of the site.

Start with what’s already beneath your feet

Soil needs to be considered before the earthworks begin.

Understanding it as part of the site’s baseline gives teams better information to work with from the start, helping shape habitat creation, planting, drainage and environmental design around the conditions that are already there.

Our soil assessment capability is being formalised so you can benefit from advice that connects soil findings directly with ecology, arboriculture, landscape planning and green and blue infrastructure.

Want to understand what your soil could mean for your site?

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