From the
organisers of
Hillhead logo

Celebrations at Island Barn Aggregates

OVER 100 guests recently gathered at Island Barn Aggregates to celebrate the development to date of a 60ha wetland reserve at the company’s site near Walton on Thames in Surrey. Phase 1 of three was completed last year and Phase 2 is currently under way.

Welcoming guests to the event, Simon Elson, principal environmental enhancement officer with Surrey County Council, called the site ‘a flagship and role model for restoration projects’ and said it illustrated that partnerships –– in this case between CEMEX, Lafarge, Thames Water and Surrey County Council –– could work to achieve something outstanding.

Island Barn Aggregates were formed in 1992 when the site was identified by the Surrey Minerals Local Plan as a potential sand and gravel quarry. Today the site is jointly operated by Lafarge and CEMEX, producing aggregates to supply an on-site concrete plant.

 

The restoration project has three phases: the Eastern, Central and Western lakes. Last year saw the completion of the first phase with the Eastern Lake fully restored. This included the creation of a number of gravel-topped islands, providing ideal terrain for birds such as the little ringed plover and terns.

In May 2005 the national wetland bird count confirmed that there were nearly 50 different species of birds at the site, including some rarer species of duck, such as the gadwall and shoveler.

As areas of the site have been decommissioned they have been rapidly colonized by water plants such as common reed, rush and sedge. To create a natural environment sympathetic to the locality, many of these plants have been utilized in the restoration.

On completion of the final two phases, the site will provide open water, seasonally flooded grasslands, mudflats and a 5ha reed bed.

 

 

Latest Jobs