Cefn Mawr quarry rehabilitation

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Objective

Wherever possible the worked out faces are sympathetically restored for both habitat improvement and softening of the visual impact so as to blend in with the surrounding areas.

Context

Cefn Mawr quarry produces 700,000 tonnes of limestone per annum for the nearby Castle Cement Kiln at Padeswood. The local area contains a great diversity of wildlife species and habitats, including a range of semi-natural vegetation, heather moorland, calcareous grassland, wetlands and ash woodlands.

Cefn Mawr quarry is set within an AONB area (National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty), surrounded by two SSSI’s (Sites of Special Scientific Interest). The surrounding woodlands are predominantly of ash Fraxinus excelsior.

Solutions

A 14 year long restoration project devised by the quarry manager and expedited by his workforce team has pioneered a methodology of habitat translocation of calcareous grassland and ash woodland together with the underlying glacial drift substrate and seed bank within the permitted area. The translocation has been applied to bund revegetation and vertical face restoration. The programme has been subject to a research study by ecological scientists from the University of Edge Hill who have reported that the translocated habitats possess a remarkable plant biodiversity which in turn benefits a host of invertebrates and vertebrates. Even the most recently restored slopes are diverse (with over 40 species thriving after just 6 months).

The Habitat Management Scheme was constructed by Edge Hill University and they oversee annual management activities.

Results

The restoration methodology developed in house, and expedited by the local workforce has been successful and is closely monitored by ecological scientists from Edge Hill University as part of research projects and the Habitat Management Scheme. The translocation appears to have been visually effective and achieved at a relatively low cost.

There are over 100 species represented quarry wide on the translocations which is in effect extending the range of the surrounding SSSI’s. More recently a major habitat research programme has been sponsored by HeidelbergCement to measure the success of the in house biodiversity restoration programme.

Quarry visits are actively encouraged especially for students.