Christopher Terry
Standing Shoulder to Shoulder with the Community to fight Barton/Mill Hill Quarry
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has been fighting to protect wildlife from the threat posed by a new sand & gravel quarry proposed for Barton in Fabis – directly across the River Trent from our much loved Attenborough Nature Reserve - since at least 2017.
Whilst we accept that sand and gravel extraction is needed in our county, this allocation is one of the most ecologically damaging we’ve dealt with and we’ve objected to it from day 1 – working closely with local residents, community representatives and members of the Save the Ancient Valley Environment (SAVE) campaign group.
© John Smith
Our efforts alongside the community have resulted in significant and welcome modifications to the planning application, illustrating the importance of us continuing to fight wildlife’s corner but this proposal still poses a threat to wildlife both on the Barton-In-Fabis side of the River Trent and at our much loved Attenborough Nature Reserve and risks disruption and disturbance of people’s enjoyment of a number of vital wildlife areas.
Our Nature Recovery team are currently preparing our official objection to the proposal but given the importance of the sites in question and the strength of feeling within the local community we are asking our supporters to help directly by responding to the official planning consultation by the 10th September 2021.
Having cared for Attenborough Nature Reserve for over 50 years and having only recently been backed by members and supporters to take ownership of the site the prospect of damaging disturbance to its wildlife and of impact on people’s enjoyment of this cherished site is a real cause for concern.
Andy Jamieson
Our key concerns for wildlife
The proposal will result in loss of and damage to areas of designated Local Wildlife Sites (LWS). This is unacceptable given that Nottinghamshire has such a low level of protected habitat and the urgent need to reverse the ecological crisis by ensuring that 30% of land can support nature.
The proposal could have a negative impact of Schedule 1 protected breeding birds recorded within the proposed quarry site
Designated LWS’s including Clifton Wood may be affected by noise disturbance – a real concern for both breeding birds and bats. We are also concerned that the noise modelling data doesn’t enable us to assess the full impact of the noise pollution on species or particular sites.
Photo © Kevin Gray
Noise disturbance could be a real issue for birds just across the river at Attenborough Nature Reserve too – both for breeding birds and species choosing Attenborough a safe haven to spend the winter.
Birds overwintering at Attenborough could face a double blow due to the loss of important grazing habitat on the Barton-in-Fabis side of the river.
Have your say
For those interested in speaking out about this issue, the Save the Ancient Valley Environment campaign's website has an article giving some advice on how to object to the local council.
How to object to the planning application (July 2021)
General information including news from the Save the Ancient Valley Environment campaign can be found on their front page.
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