The extraction of sand and gravel and hard rock by quarrying changes the former landscape and can involve earthmoving on a large scale but with Biodiversity Net Gain a current hot topic, this disturbance continues to provide unique opportunities to secure measurable net gains for biodiversity and to reimagine what the land could be better used for at the end of quarrying.  

Mineral extraction is a temporary land use and once extraction has been completed the land has to be restored to an agreed after-use.  This may involve returning the land to its original purpose but where this is not practical or perhaps desirable, there is the opportunity to improve on the former land use. Although innovative and high-quality quarry restoration has been delivered across the UK for decades the potential for beneficial change was formally recognised in 2006 when the RSPB published their ground-breaking research report “Nature After Minerals”. This identified the enormous potential for quarry restoration to achieve significant biodiversity gains on a landscape scale delivering benefit to wildlife and to people. Today some 8,300 ha of UK priority habitats have been created through quarry restoration with a further 11,000 ha planned and in the pipeline. Smiths Bletchington contributed to the 2006 RSPB research project and continue to champion the opportunities that mineral working can deliver for biodiversity and public access in Oxfordshire.

Our flagship Gill Mill quarry in the Windrush valley south of Witney has been operating since 1989 and produces some 450,000 tonnes of sand and gravel a year to meet local demand for construction materials. Rushy Common Nature Reserve and Tar Lakes are one of the early legacies of quarrying at Gill Mill. Here, species-poor, semi-improved pasture, has been transformed though quarrying to clean freshwater lakes, ponds and scrapes that support a vast array of wildlife, managed in partnership with the Lower Windrush Valley Project and now enjoyed by thousands of local visitors each year.  

The most recent planning permission at Gill Mill, granted in 2015, will enable the site to supply a further 5 million tonnes of sand and gravel and its approved restoration scheme will transform intensive arable fields and improved grasslands into one of the largest connected priority wildlife habitats in the region including a 60 ha reed bed, enough for a bittern or three! It will also create 11 km of new public paths and bridleways, some of which are already open and in use, plus a small number of short stay eco-lodges to provide revenue for sustainable long-term management of the resulting nature reserve.

At the smaller end of the scale, at our former sand quarry at Duns Tew West, we have created a mosaic of dry acid and calcareous grassland alongside bare ground, an ephemeral pond and a 365 m long sand face that is not only a geological SSSI but home to a diverse assemblage of invertebrates and the largest nesting site for sand martins in north Oxfordshire. A permissive path with a bird screen provides public access to this remarkable site.

Mineral extraction at both Gill Mill and Duns Tew quarries has changed the former farmed landscapes for good but through restoration has delivered substantial gains for biodiversity and public access to wildlife. Quarrying can have highly positive impacts beyond the essential materials that it provides.

“We are delighted to support Wild Oxfordshire and greatly value the cohesion and vision they bring to delivering Nature’s Recovery in Oxfordshire.”

Martin Layer, Planning and Estates Manager, Smiths Bletchington – www.smithsbletchington.co.uk/community-zone

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