Ripon City Wetlands, between the Ripon Canal and the River Ure, operated as a working quarry until very recently. Now, managed by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and supported by Aggregate Industries, the site has been transformed into a nature reserve teeming with wildlife. It opens to the public this weekend, 4th May 2019.
Aggregate Industries bought quarrying rights from landowner Brown & Potter in 2003. When extraction expired, the LafargeHolcim subsidiary worked with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Middlemarch Environmental to create a wildlife haven.
Aggregate Industries has committed to provide funding to help manage the site for the next 50 years.
Chief executive Guy Edwards said: “We are delighted that our quarry has been turned into such a significant place for wildlife. Sustainability and biodiversity are of the utmost importance to Aggregate Industries, and within that comes the beneficial restoration of sites to benefit the local community and the environment.”
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust regional manager Jonathan Leadley said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming the public to Ripon City Wetlands, and we’re sure they’re going to love it. This wonderful new wetland adds to a suite of existing nature reserves along the River Ure corridor, including Nosterfield and High Batts. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust supports the creation of ‘Living Landscapes’ - wildlife habitats that are bigger, better-managed and more joined-up – and collectively, these nature reserves are the perfect embodiment of that aim.”
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk