After over 100 years of industrial use, British Salt are to transform the Lagoons at Cledford Lane into a wildlife reserve, starting next week. The scheme will revitalize the former industrial land to create safe public access to large swaths of the site that have, up until now, been inaccessible. The restoration will protect and enhance unique habitats that have already sprung up on the site and will preserve and enhance the rare biodiversity of the land and secure the future of the site for the next 30 years as a haven for wildlife.

Lucinda Lay, Head of Natural Capital at GEDG added:

“As an ethical development company Green Earth Developments is championing the re-purposing of brownfield sites for natural capital projects. There is no reason why these sites, which are constrained by previous industrial use, cannot be brought back to play important roles in reversing the UK’s biodiversity loss.”

The 70-acre site is made up of a network of 8 settling lagoons that date back to 1896. Originally used by the soda ash and salt purification industries in Middlewich, the land was used for settlement and storage of non-toxic process waste materials. Keeping things local and in an effort to mitigate disruption for residents and minimise the works’ overall carbon footprint, the project plans, in part, to use excess soil from the construction of the local bypass. What’s more, the restoration of the lagoons is a positive step in the preservation of dwindling biodiversity in the UK, which is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world*.

The project is not only an opportunity to create a valuable environmental asset of importance, but also a chance for the public to access much of the site for the first time in over a century. A set of circular footpaths will connect to existing local routes so local residents, walkers and dog walkers will be able to enjoy the restored site safely and without detriment to the valuable flora and fauna.

Jennifer Haynes, Sustainability Manager at British Salt said:

“Good stewardship of our legacy assets is a real focus for us and the opportunity to make a positive impact is really exciting. We really hope the approach for this project provides a route for others to follow, showing how industrial businesses can use what they already hold to make a significant environmental contribution.”

“We plan to set up a local Liaison Committee to help steer the long-term management of the site ensuring that its place as a Middlewich community asset is assured for future generations.”

British Salt are working with specialist partners Green Earth Developments (“GEDG”) to deliver one of the first schemes to use the provisions of the Environment Act 2021 delivering Biodiversity Units to assist other developments in the area that now have to deliver a 10% net gain in terms of biodiversity as part of their planning permissions. In essence Biodiversity units from this scheme can be used to offset losses on other sites thus ensuring Cheshire East has an overall net gain.

The land will be regenerated with environmental impact front of mind. Circa 200,000m3 of restoration soils generated from developments in the local area, such as the Middlewich Bypass construction, will be used to ‘cap and restore’ the land, ensuring minimal disruption to local communities while reducing the overall carbon footprint of the project. Water collection system improvements are also planned to ensure that rain falling on the site does not come into contact with waste material. This improvement of the water discharge quality will also improve the long-term health of Sanderson’s Brook, with the aim of supporting the biodiversity of this watercourse.