Funding plea to restore landfill to Country Park
Friday 6th August 2010
A unique plan to restore a landfill site into a nature park needs £40,000 to be raised before the middle of August to guarantee the transformation.
Essex Wildlife Trust has successfully raised £61,000 towards a total target of £100,000 and is now appealing for help to raise the rest of the much-needed cash by 17 August. If successful, £2.85m in grants will be released, allowing one of the largest landfill sites in Essex to be transformed into a Country Park.
Thurrock Thameside Nature Park – the biggest scheme Essex Wildlife Trust has ever undertaken - will provide a dawn-till-dusk 263ha recreational facility with extensive wildlife habitats; bridle, cycle and footpath networks; bird hides and visitor facilities such as an outdoor classroom, toilets, parking and picnic areas. A new visitor centre will afford fantastic views over the mudflats and the Thames.
There are already internationally important numbers of ringed plover and avocets and nationally important numbers of grey plover, dunlin, godwit and redshank. The Nature Park will be important for many other species too including barn owls, water voles (our fastest declining species), harvest mice, skylark, butterflies and invertebrates.
The current Mucking Landfill Site, which lies south of Stanford- le-Hope and east of East Tilbury, next to the River Thames, is due to close next year. Once landfilling stops, Cory Environmental Ltd will start restoring the site.
John Hall, Director of Essex Wildlife Trust, said: “Thurrock Thameside Nature Park will be an extensive Living Landscape scheme and the biggest project Essex Wildlife Trust has ever planned.
“There will be the opportunity for people to enjoy eight miles of footpaths, bridleways and cycle paths. It is a site of great wildlife importance which will contain a variety of habitats. It will be a key panoramic destination with tremendous vistas over the Thames Estuary. It will be a flagship scheme for Thurrock and Thames Gateway.
“We are clear about the resources needed to deliver this vision. Although we have secured significant funding from Cory Environmental Trust in Thurrock and Thames Gateway Parklands, towards managing and enhancing the Nature Park project, there are still substantial funds to raise and we need to raise this last £39,000 before 17 August, when our Board next meets to take the project forward.”
Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation commented, “The restored site will enhance the environment and will provide an outstanding asset for Thurrock.”
The owners of Mucking landfill site, Cory Environmental Ltd, are pleased with the prospect of continuing to work with Essex Wildlife Trust.
John Boldon, Director of Planning and Estates at Cory Environmental said:
“This is a very important site for Cory Environmental. We already work well with Essex Wildlife Trust at Stanford Warren Nature Reserve. We are very pleased that Essex Wildlife Trust has the opportunity to manage the site as we know it will be in safe hands.”
To donate to the Thurrock Thameside Nature Park Appeal, please contact Essex Wildlife Trust on 01621 862960 or visit www.essexwt.org.uk
Story by Essex WT