From brownfield site to country park in west London

A Rocha UK was commissioned to carry out an ecological impact assessment in support of a planning application for the development of the Minet site, in the London Borough of Hillingdon, as a country park. The work proposed in the assessment was carried out by the council, and was largely completed by the end of 2003. Throughout the work, A Rocha was contracted to give ecological advice.

Minet before the restoration process

The Minet site (approx. 36 ha) is located in a heavily built-up, culturally diverse area between Southall and Hayes in west London. The site includes a cycle racing track, and is bordered by commercial premises, a school, a football club and some private land on three sides, and on the fourth by a stream, the Yeading Brook. The Grand Union Canal runs nearby. Although designated as greenbelt land and formerly grazed for pasture, by 2000 the Minet site had become largely wasteland. One part of the site had been exploited for brick-earth and had subsequently been infilled with hardcore and subsoil, while another part had suffered contamination by chemical spoil. Part of the site was used for car-boot sales, with associated loss of vegetation. The area was used for illegal tipping of waste, contained many burnt-out cars, and was also used by motorcyclists.

In spite of all these factors, the site had undergone varying degrees of natural vegetation succession and still supported a good range of wildlife. However, there were problems with ground contamination and invasive plant species such as Giant Hogweed Heracleum mantegazzianum and Japanese Knotweed Fallopia japonica.

The intention of the proposed scheme was to provide a safe and attractive country park between the densely populated urban areas of Hayes and Southall. A primary objective was to protect and enhance the site’s existing nature conservation value.Save

The ecological impact assessment divided the site into three main areas. The northern area was mostly species-poor semi-improved grassland, particularly within the cycle racing track, with a few damp areas and temporary pools. However, as the area was relatively undisturbed it supported good habitat for breeding and wintering birds. The central part of the site had the highest levels of human disturbance, and was mainly hard-standing or sparse grass. The southern part of the site was the most diverse, comprising several fields, mature hedgerows and areas of scrub, with a drainage ditch widening to form a pond. Several mature trees existed, especially in association with the hedges and stream banks, and the most southerly tip of the area supported an area of scrub woodland.

Even before the work on preserving and enhancing the conservation value of the site, surveys of the flora and fauna indicated significant numbers of different species, including 11 dragonfly, 21 butterfly and 94 bird species (with 35 of these breeding on the site, including several of Conservation Concern).

Minet after the restoration work

During 2001 and 2002 an enormous amount of work was put in by A Rocha UK with the help of many volunteers to clear rubbish and start on landscaping the flat and ecologically low-value land in the centre of the site. Council contractors imported around 80,000 cu m of sub-soil to create bunds in four locations, which were seeded with a mix of grasses. This work carried on well into 2003.

During 2003 more rubbish was removed, with the help of council contractors, and fences were built along some of the boundaries.

Several tree-planting sessions were organised with help from the community. Each block of native species had curved edges and was fringed with low-growing species to maximise the value of the woodland edge habitat for wildlife. These pockets of planting were concentrated around the cycle track, though not within the large central part which had been designated as a conservation area.

The central drainage channel, formerly a tipping ground for rubbish, was cleared and the pond enlarged. The banks were re-profiled to give a shallower, more natural look and sown with grass-seed. Repairs were made to an old sluice at the end of the pond to stop it leaking.

Around 4.2 km of gravel footpaths were constructed around the whole site, avoiding most of the areas likely to support more sensitive wildlife to minimise disturbance effects. To cater to the majority of visitors, two fields in the centre of the site were converted from rough semi-improved or improved grassland to amenity grassland. This, like the tree planting, is a benefit which will become more apparent as the site matures.

Litter picking and clearing brambles and paths had been undertaken throughout 2003 and 2004, and still continues, as does the task of cutting the grassed areas in ways appropriate to its use for leisure or conservation.

With the main proposals of the ecological impact assessment carried out, A Rocha UK wrote a detailed Management Plan for the Minet site for the five-year period 2005-2009. The implementation of this plan is now ongoing.

Project leader: Colin Conroy

Partners: London Borough of Hillingdon, Friends of Minet