Created by urban ecologist, Dusty Gedge, the green roof’s consultant, and Blackdown, specialists in green roofs with over 12 years’ experience, Glow, Bluewater’s green roof spans 3,120m2, and took 620 hours to complete.

The green roof has been designed within a sustainable framework to deliver a number of significant benefits to the local environment. Special planting techniques have been used to create a ‘bio-diverse’ habitat featuring specially sourced seeds that will attract at least 13 different species of wildlife, including rare bees. In addition, stones and native timber logs have been introduced due to their excellent thermal retention properties and to create shelter and a natural hibernation environment for insects, which in turn will attract birdlife.

The green roof will take between three to five years to become established and change constantly from season to season.

Commenting on the venue’s green roof, Dusty Gedge said: “This project is leading the way in green roof technology simply by the amount of planning and thought that has gone into this as part of the development. I will be looking forward to watching the roof grow and discovering new wildlife species; it is a great asset for Glow, Bluewater and one that is very close to my heart”.

Andrew Parkinson, Bluewater’s General Manager, added: “The bio-diverse roof reinforces Bluewater’s long-term commitment to both the immediate community and the wider environment. It is a continuation of our sustainability ethos and we are confident that it will add its own significant benefits to the local eco-system.”

In the last 12 years, Bluewater has supplied the local aquifer with 794 million litres of water, the equivalent of over 315 Olympic-sized swimming pools. In addition, the one million trees and shrubs planted at the time of opening have absorbed almost 1.8 million kg of carbon dioxide. Bluewater’s 20 hectares of lakes and parkland are also open to guests seven days a week and make an important contribution to the quality of life in the surrounding community.

To complete the green roof, Bluewater employed contractors from the local community through The Learning Shop to work alongside Blackdown. To date, a total of 63 local companies have benefited from the construction of Glow, Bluewater.