We have called for the urgent protection of one of the most threatened nature sites in the South of East England. Today Buglife has written to the Government’s environmental advisor Natural England urging it to take steps to secure the future of Tilbury’s ashfields, before they are lost to development.
For decades, the waste from the coal-powered Tilbury Power Station was stored in nearby fields. However, over decades the waste material, known as Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA) has been reclaimed by nature to create a haven for wildlife. Together with a network of ditches and coastal habitats, the site is home to nearly 1,200 species of insects and other invertebrates. This includes an incredible 185 of conservation concern- over 15%, making it of national importance. Some of the UK’s most threatened species are found here, such as the elusive Critically Endangered Stripe-eyed Paragus (Paragus albifrons) which is known from only a handful of modern sites, the Vulnerable Great Sneak-spider (Harpactea rubicunda), Endangered Wall Butterfly (Lasiommata megera) and the Shrill Carder Bee (Bombus sylvarum) – one of our most threatened bumblebees.
Such wildlife-rich brownfields can be havens for nature, and in the Thames Estuary they are home to nationally important populations of invertebrates. However, the future of these unique and irreplaceable ashfield habitats is in the balance from proposals to expand the Port of Tilbury, as part of a new project called Tilbury 3. Eight years ago, in 2017, Buglife fought to stop the previous port expansion, the Tilbury 2, in a campaign supported by 75,000 supporters. This was green lit by the Secretary of State for Transport in 2019. The impact of losing yet more of this vital habitat could spell disaster for the Thames Estuary’s wildlife.
Buglife is calling on Natural England to take urgent action to deliver on its public commitment to designate the best remaining habitats in the Thames Estuary for invertebrates as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), by notifying these irreplaceable ashfields. Natural England failed to act in 2017 and time is running out for it to avoid another devastating blow for nature in the Thames Estuary.
Jamie Robins, Buglife Programmes Manager, says, “The ashfields at Tilbury have been well and truly reclaimed by wildlife, becoming a home to some of our most threatened species. With so many wildlife-rich brownfields in the Thames Estuary already lost to development, and against the background of a nature emergency and our insects in steep decline, it is urgent that Natural England take steps to protect the Tilbury ashfields. The Government cannot hope to meet its ambitious 30 x 30 targets and prevent extinctions, if it doesn’t step in to protect key sites for wildlife.”
Natural England has publicly committed to surveys and assessments to identify a new North Thames Estuary & Marshes SSSI, previously stating that it would make a decision in 2025. But with the threat of a planning application hanging over the Tilbury Ashfields, as well as the spectre of the Lower Thames Crossing looming, time is running out for Natural England to act.
Main Image Credit: Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) © Iain Perkins