New Metro depot helps to protect rare species of butterfly

The new, temporary, Tyne and Wear Metro at Howdon is not only the home every night to a selection of Metrocars but also has a special conservation area included to help protect a rare species of butterfly. During the planning stages of the depot the former landfill site in North Tyneside was found to be home to an increasingly rare butterfly called a Dingy Skipper and so part of the site was designated for butterfly conservation.

In recognition of the decision to allow a one-acre habitat at the depot the project has now been shortlisted for an environmental award by the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM).

Speaking about the discovery, Neil Blagburn, Metro Development Director, said: “Protecting this rare species of butterfly was one of the conditions we needed to comply with when building our new temporary Metro depot at Howdon. Ecological surveys showed that an area of the site is home to the Dingy Skipper, which is native to the UK but is becoming increasingly rare. The last thing we wanted was the depot project to negatively impact on this important species, so a plan was drawn up to create a segregated butterfly conservation area within the site, well away from the main building and train movements. The habitat was constructed by our contractors after detailed ecological assessments and it has been a huge success. We are now signed up to the nation’s big butterfly count and will keep an eye on how many we see in the area. All of the work that went into this element of the project has been nominated for a prestigious environmental award, which is great recognition for the extraordinary length we have gone, to ensure our depot project provided a safe haven for the local wildlife.”

Atkins, Nexus’ consultants, are undertaking surveys of the whole site and counting the butterflies which is supporting the nation’s Big Butterfly Count. The nomination for the CIEEM award is joint between Nexus and Atkins who have been working together following the discovery of the butterfly. This led to the formation of the 1.2 acre area of new Dingy Skipper habitat as part of an ecological mitigation strategy.

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