Biodiversity net gain will be fully integrated into our business for new quarry developments
We are tracking and await the legislation contained within the Environment Bill
We are working with the MPA to understand the implications for our business
A new commitment to carry out biodiversity net impact studies at all quarry sites by 2025
Plans are underway for all our quarrying operations to carry out biodiversity net impact assessments in conjunction with BirdLife International
A new commitment to have biodiversity management plans (BMPs) - also referred to as biodiversity action plans (BAPs) - at all our operational sites located within 1km of a high value nature conservation area by 2025. This previously only applied to quarries
100% of our quarry sites already have a BMP
All operational sites within 1km of a high value nature conservation area are being identified so BMPs can be developed
Our partnership wetland project with the RSPB at Ouse Fen in Cambridgeshire is an outstanding example of minerals extraction leading to habitat creation and highlights the benefits that managing the land left behind after quarrying can make in shaping and improving habitats for wildlife. In 2020 we restored the latest 80-hectare section of worked out land from our Needingworth quarry ready for it to be transferred to the RSPB, which took place in early 2021.
Our partnership project with the RSPB is the largest planned nature conservation restoration scheme of its kind in Europe and, once complete, the reserve will incorporate the UK’s largest created reedbed – an extremely rare habitat – much of which has been lost in Britain.
Ouse Fen nature reserve is already home to a nationally important population of bitterns, a rare heron species, as well as other iconic wetland wildlife including marsh harriers, bearded tits, otters and water voles.
