A NORTH-EAST quarrying company is at the forefront of plans to hugely increase the area of a rare wildlife habitat in the region.

Thrislington Quarry, near Ferryhill, County Durham, is important because it is a source of magnesian limestone for the UK steel industry, and a nationally important magnesian limestone grassland site.

Juggling the two competing needs is the job of quarry owner Lafarge Aggregates, which is committed to increasing the area of conservation interest at the same time as continuing to extract minerals.

The quarry contains magnesian limestone grassland, a specialised habitat for wildflowers and invertebrates, of which there are only 273 hectares in the UK.

Two thirds of the habitat is in the North-East, supporting 13 nationally rare plants and 84 nationally rare insects, including the Northern Brown Argus butterfly and glow worms.

Lafarge is consulting on plans to expand its operation to a new area east of the A1, but at the same time restoration work on other parts of the site is providing an opportunity to create more grassland.

The existing quarry covers 170 hectares, of which 84ha will be restored to grassland; the new area covers 80ha, of which 39ha will eventually be restored.

Seed from the site was collected during the summer, to spread on rock exposed during work to widen the A1(M) between junctions 60 and 61, with the aim of creating more magnesian limestone grassland.

David Park, Northern restoration manager for Lafarge, said: "Because it is such an important biological resource in regional, national and international terms, English Nature has to provide authorisation for any removal of biological material.

"Future seed removal would have to be in co-operation with English Nature. We would allow it as long as it is for non-commercial uses. And, in the future, we will need to provide seed as part of the restoration."

Mr Park said about three quarters of the proposed increase in magnesian limestone grassland envisaged under the County Durham Biodiversity Action Plan is accounted for by the restoration plan for the quarry.

He said working with nature conservation was an important aspect of the quarrying business.

Mr Park said: "We have been managing the National Nature Reserve here since 1982 with English Nature. That is probably one of the longest associations between a nature conservation body and an industrial company."

The work is part of the MAGical Meadows Project, for which Durham Wildlife Trust is the lead organisation, backed by a number of North-East councils, and organisations such as Defra, English Nature and the National Trust. The project aims to conserve, restore and create magnesian grassland.

Co-ordinator Michelle Park said: "By creating new areas of magnesian limestone grassland, we are helping increase our resource for future generations."

Published: 13/12/2005