Suffolk Wildlife Trust owns and manages Hen Reedbeds Nature Reserve, which is adjacent to an active gravel extraction site, Wangford Quarry, operated by minerals company Breedon. 

As the custodians of a nationally important wetland nature reserve next door to the quarry, we have an interest in what happens with the quarry site, both operationally and its after use, to ensure these areas keep our nature reserve safe and deliver the best possible long-term outcomes for wildlife. 

To that end, we have used our wildlife expertise to assist Breedon in developing their after-use plans, advising on restoration and future management of parts of Wangford Quarry that have already been or are being worked. This led to the Trust being invited to advise on the plan for post-extraction restoration should consent be granted for a proposed ‘Southern Extension’ to the existing mineral working area. 

Proposed Southern Extension to Wangford Quarry - Potential impacts on wildlife and ecology 

The site of a potential Southern Extension to Wangford Quarry would be next door to our Hen Reedbeds nature reserve and near to the Minsmere-Walberswick Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar wetland. As such, any planning application will have to be accompanied by extensive ecological information, including a Habitat Regulations Assessment, to assess the potential for any likely significant impacts on nationally and internationally important wildlife sites. 

This is in addition to the ecological impact assessment that would be required of any planning application to assess potential impacts on protected habitats and species, and wider Environmental Impact Assessment. 

We will not pre-judge the outcome of these assessments and will review these once any planning application is submitted. 

Hydrology 

One area where there is the potential for impacts on Hen Reedbeds is hydrology, i.e. the effect of the proposed extension on water levels in the neighbouring wetland. Detailed hydrological investigation will be needed to assess the potential for any likely significant hydrological effects from the proposals to impact on Hen Reedbeds. It is our understanding that such a study is being commissioned and we will review this when it is made available to reach our own view on whether there are likely to be any significant effects on Hen Reedbeds. 

Impacts other than ecology 

We recognize that an extension to Wangford Quarry has the potential for impacts other than those on wildlife. As a Wildlife Trust our core purpose is the conservation and restoration of biodiversity, and our response to any planning application will focus on the scheme’s ecological impacts. 

Responding to any application for planning permission 

Our priorities in responding to any planning application for a Southern Extension to Wangford Quarry will be: 

1. the safeguarding of Hen Reedbeds and its wildlife, 

2. ensuring any likely significant effects on nationally and internationally important wildlife sites can be avoided or adequately mitigated, 

3. ensuring any likely significant impacts on protected and priority habitats and species can be avoided or adequately mitigated, 

4. maximizing the ability of the proposals to deliver long-term benefits for wildlife. 

We have responded to previous consultations on proposals for a Southern Extension to Wangford Quarry to highlight our concerns about the potential for adverse impacts on wildlife and ecology (see ‘Potential impacts on wildlife and ecology’ above). 

In 2021 we objected to an earlier planning application on the grounds that there was no Habitat Regulations Assessment accompanying the application and the ecology surveys to inform the assessment of ecological impacts were not up to date. This application was subsequently withdrawn. 

The potential for the restoration and management of the site post-extraction to deliver long-term benefits for wildlife will not prejudice our assessment of, and comments on, the potential of the proposals to have significant impacts on wildlife and ecology. 

Suffolk Wildlife Trust works closely with the Suffolk Coasts and Heaths AONB team, and we have agreed that when the Planning Application is made, we will focus on the wildlife and ecology impacts and the AONB team will respond on the landscape and visual impacts. 

Restoration and aftercare advice

Suffolk Wildlife Trust has advised Breedon on the plan for restoration and aftercare of the proposed Southern Extension to Wangford Quarry, which Breedon propose would be gifted to the Trust to manage following restoration should planning be granted. 

We will continue to keep our members and supporters informed about our engagement with this scheme once a planning application is submitted.