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StatusRestricted access Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) Special Area of Conservation (SAC) Volunteering opportunitiesGrassland / meadow management Pond management Great crested newt survey and monitoring Mammal survey and monitoring
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Brookhill Site of Special Scientific Interest has an interesting story behind its creation. It all began in 1865!!
The Brookhill Brickworks and the Buckley Brick and Tile Company’s sidings were located on the Brookhill Site. There were two works, the ‘Upper Works’, or the Belmont works and the ‘Lower Works’ at Brookhill. In 1913 the Belmont works were closed because the resource was exhausted. The rest of the Company passed to Castle Brick Co. in 1940, but Brookhill itself did not close until 1961.
When the brickworks closed, the abandoned quarry was colonised by five of the six British native amphibians species. Among these was the Great Crested Newt, a nationally and internationally protected species.
In the late 1990s AD Waste Ltd. made plans to use the old quarry as a landfill to dispose of household waste only.
Therefore AD Waste Ltd. were required to provide a mitigation site for the Great Crested Newt and other amphibian species before the landfill was opened. The construction of 20 ponds began in 1997 and has since resulted in a unique and diverse man-made aquatic and terrestrial habitat, grassland, hedgerows and trees.
The site is now home to many species of bird including snipe, moorhen, mallard as well as reed bunting and sedge warbler. There is also a diversity of insect, amphibian, mammal and plant species present at the Brookhill Ponds Site, which is managed on behalf of AD Waste Ltd by NEWW.
The landfill site began working in 1999 and reach maximum capacity in 2005 when it will be capped, restored and passed back to Flintshire County Council as land to be managed for the important Great crested newt population.
Plans were also made to allocate the area as an educational resource, therefore an interpretation board, dipping platform and bird hide was designed and have been implemented for the site. The dipping platform and bird hide were funded through landfill tax
Originally a fire clay quarry, Brookhill was developed as a landfill site in 1999 to take domestic, commercial and industrial waste. It will reach maximum capacity in 2005 when it will be capped, restored and passed back to Flintshire County Council as land to be managed for the important Great crested newt population. In 1997, a mitigation site of 20 ponds was developed for Great crested newts and other amphibians to replace the lost habitat from the landfill. The site was designed by a team of engineers, planners, ecologists and scientists and agreed by the Countryside Council for Wales.
Improvement work has been carried out to assist wildlife surveys on the site. A dipping platform funded through landfill tax has been constructed by the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) and designed by Group member, Ian Binnings. A bird hide has also been funded through landfill tax, where school/community groups can visit, to watch and learn about the bird life on the site.
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