Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has expressed its disappointment after Nottinghamshire County Council approved plans (17/09/24) for the extraction and processing of tipped pulverised fuel ash (PFA) from land adjacent to Idle Valley Nature Reserve – a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the largest reserve cared for by the charity.  

The Wildlife Trust had vigorously objected to the proposals due to concerns over impact on wildlife habitats, the potential impacts on a range of species due to noise, dust and light pollution and the risk of spoiling people’s quiet enjoyment of the Idle Valley Nature Reserve.  

However, the charity recognises that the operation may help to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by replacing newly mined Portland cement for construction projects and that the Applicants have made substantial changes to their proposals as a result of the Trust’s and others’ objections. Changes include agreement to work in “micro-phases” of less than 1ha at a time to reduce noise, disturbance and dust impacts; retention of a key embankment to prevent direct damage to SSSI habitat and working the PFA “wet” to reduce dust emissions and reduce the risk of hydrogeological impacts. 

The Trust also welcomes substantive changes by the Applicant to the proposed restoration scheme which will now deliver a much more diverse mix of wet grassland, reedbed and shallow wetlands, supporting the ecological priorities for the area and delivering a 43% increase in high value habitats over what is currently present. There is also a commitment to guarantee management of the new habitats for a period of 30 years. 

Speaking about the decision the Trust’s Head of Nature Recovery (North) Janice Bradley said: “We’ve been fighting wildlife’s corner in relation to this proposal since Oct 2022 and whilst we’re disappointed that the plans have been approved, we are pleased to have secured significant modifications in relation to how the materials will be extracted and the long-term habitat restoration plans.  

We still have real concerns, particularly in relation to impacts of dust, noise and light pollution on wildlife and disruption for our visitors, but we trust that the raft of conditions imposed by the Nottinghamshire County Council will provide suitable safeguards and mitigation. The Applicants will still need to secure approval for detailed aspects such as bat-friendly lighting and a dust management plan and must secure a permit from the Environment Agency. We will continue to engage with Planners and the Applicants to ensure that the impacts on wildlife and our visitors are kept to an absolute minimum and that the long-term opportunities for habitat creation are maximised.”