Providing a long-term sustainable solution to bring the Summit Colliery site back into commercial use.

Bolsover Properties instructed Cawarden to reclaim the former colliery site for commercial and industrial use, while ensuring the protection of botanical diversity and the conservation status of Dingy Skipper butterflies in the long term.

The site had been left undisturbed for many years, allowing the growth and development of a diverse range of botanical and invertebrate life. As a result, it was designated as a Local Wildlife Site. Surveys confirmed the presence of Common Spotted-Orchid and Bee Orchid, both of which are of botanical interest. Invertebrate surveys also revealed the existence of several butterfly species, including a small population of Dingy Skipper, which is a rare butterfly species in Nottinghamshire.

The aim of the project was to find a sustainable solution that would not only protect the botanical diversity and maintain the conservation status of the Dingy Skipper, but also allow for re-development. Our contract required the removal of demolition arisings from the former colliery buildings and remediate and consolidate the land for future development.

The work at the site was divided into several phases over several years. While the land reclamation was a major concern for the client, the conservation requirements of the site involved some interesting and unusual work. This included creating new habitats and relocating rare species from their current locations on the site to the periphery of the development.

The effort put into taking care of the grasslands and paying attention to detail paid off. The grasslands that have been moved to a new location and those with hydro-seeded grass are flourishing. The monitoring of the Dingy Skipper butterfly population has shown promising results right from the start. In fact, the monitoring conducted in 2016 revealed that the minimum population size had increased by 350% in the created habitats when compared to the original ones. Moreover, the monitoring conducted in 2018 of adult butterflies showed that the population size increase had been maintained.

The project exceeded expectations and provided the population with a long-term future in the area.

Thanks to the expertise provided by Butterfly Conservation and the willingness of the client, supported by Cawarden and the ecologist, the team was able to develop a sustainable long-term solution.

The scheme has received a commended award by The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), gold and silver International Green Apple Awards 2021 which led to Cawarden being crowned Green World Ambassadors 2022.

Learn more about our work on this project

Check out our feature in Demolition & Dismantling Magazine here