A multi-year project to plant more than 16 kilometres of new hedgerows across the site of a former Northumberland surface mine has reached its conclusion.
Banks Mining has been continuing its restoration work at the Shotton surface mine site near Cramlington since mining operations finished three years ago as part of the long-term plan to return the land to a mix of conservation and agricultural use.
Alongside the hedgerow planting, Banks has installed more than 36,000 metres of fencing across the site, while around 56,000 trees and shrubs have been planted across 43 hectares of woodland at Shotton over the last 11 years as part of Banks’ long-term ‘restoration first’ approach, where land is restored as quickly as possible, even during operational periods.
A mixture of broad-leafed native species including English Oak, Beech, Alder, Rowan, Cherry, Hazel and Small Leaved Lime has been used within the hedgerows, while a seasonally wet habitat area has been created in the southern portion of the site to provide new locations for local wildlife.
Work on underdraining the agricultural fields within the site, followed by recultivating and reseeding is ongoing as is adding in around another ten kilometres of tracks, with Banks expecting to complete the required work in the next year.
As part of the operation of the Shotton surface mine, the Banks Group and landowners The Blagdon Estate invested £3m in the creation of Northumberlandia, the world’s largest human landform, which was formed from 1.5m tonnes of specially selected soil and clay taken from the Shotton site and which is now estimated to attract over 100,000 visitors every year.
Richard Hutchinson, landscape manager at the Banks Group, says: “The restoration of our surface mines has always been given the same priority as the mining operations and we are very proud of our record of restoring every single one of the 115 surface mines that we have worked over more than 45 years.
“Restoration provides a great opportunity to deliver environmental, landscape, ecological and recreational benefits to local communities and wildlife. The new hedgerows and habitat areas at Shotton provide both places that local wildlife can thrive and direct biodiversity benefits for the local environment.
“There’s more work to do before the restoration is finished, but it’s great to see the land being used once again by the farmers growing crops for food production and by local people for recreational purposes. We’ve had lots of comments about how surprised people are at how quickly work has been carried out and how well the site looks.
“Our mining operations have led to the creation of a wide range of invaluable community assets, with Northumberlandia naturally being the best-recognised of them all.
“It’s extremely pleasing that the far-sighted decision by Banks and the Blagdon Estate to invest in creating something special at Shotton which would boost the region’s overall tourism offering has paid off so spectacularly.”