Long term monitoring, Habitat Creation and Restoration at Beddington Farmlands Gravel Extraction; Landfill and Energy Renewable Facility for Viridor Waste Management

The brief

Managed by our client Viridor, Beddington Farmlands, once solely a sludge-drying sewage treatment works, has been in the process of development for gravel extraction and landfill since 1998. Permission to develop was conditional upon a staggered development, restoring areas post landfill. In 2015, Viridor began construction on an Energy Renewable facilty on site, which has revised the previous planning permission, though habitat creation and fulfilment of the Conservation management scheme remain a development condition. In terms of its size and importance for wildlife, this is currently the largest wildlife restoration project in London.

What did we do?

Involved at the site since the mid-1990s, MKA Ecology project manages the ecological input into all aspects of the development by undertaking long-term species monitoring surveys and analysis. Birds and Bats are of Particular significance at the site. New habitats are being created to benefit wildlife, including lake and reed bed construction, wildflower meadows, scrubland, wet grassland development, and acid grassland. Our monitoring provides an annual baseline to assess progress against the conservation management scheme.

What was the outcome for the client?

Efficient and effective delivery of our services, combined with creative and innovative solutions means that the client can factor the ecological requirements on-site into the project master plans, enabling sustainable development.