In this thought provoker I want to look at taking a piece of derelict land and turning it into something special.
Starting with a large old quarry, with high sides and a fairly level bottom, with perhaps a few heaps of spoil and soil around. It is not flooded and although having a stream coming out of one area, this is drained away from the front of the site. There are a number of such sites around generally unused.
The objective is to turn this site into a nature reserve with homes distributed throughout.
The first stage is to make sure all the walls are safe and fence the top edges, fixing any parts that are less than solid.
Next the layout is organized, which is to be based upon a stream, fed by a tall waterfall from one rock face, partly comprising the existing stream but supplemented with a pumped supply from below. The route of the stream is to be cut out of the base of the quarry. and a dam added at the point where the stream leaves the quarry so as to maintain the water level at a constant level. Plots are distributed through the nature reserve but laid out in such a way that road way is minimized and not generally visible to the houses, and each looks out at pleasant views. There is no problems with foundations for the houses, but they are raised a little so as to give a better view of the surrounding areas, allowing as well that some soil is to be added still.
Cutting the services into ground is a major task, but might be able to be reduced by combining together with drives and landscaping.
The houses can be constructed by any method and any design, most would have small amount of fenced private ground but many of their windows looking out onto the reserve. The exterior of each house should as far as possible blend into the scene.
Landscaping is necessary to give it a pleasant shape with banks draining to the stream but having interesting shapes, some of these banks will need to be quite considerable, so as to give sufficient depth for trees as well as to help hide some of the other houses. Some plants are added but a large amount of the area is covered by grass,
At the entrance to the quarry/estate, a wall is constructed with access for cars and pedestrians, though a device that involved moving over grids and electric fencing so as to stop wildlife from within the park escaping of becoming a danger on the roads. Additional electric fencing or other fencing may be necessary on any rock face that could be climbed.
Bird tables and feeding stations need to be added and this together with the stream and trees/bushes will bring in the birds. Animal shelters, nesting boxes and the like can also be added, but few animals will be able to get into the quarry. Animals can be moved into the reserve, these could include badgers, rabbits and other countryside animals and are probably to be found from sites where it is necessary to relocate them for road or other work. Like wise game birds such as pheasants and partridges can be acquired quite easily. Deer can be obtained either from the Forestry Commission where they wish to move them out of forestry that is being damaged or where culling to reduce numbers is to occur or from deer or wildlife parks. The number of animals would need to be maintained at a level that with some supplementary feeding would keep the grass and plants under control but not destroy the site.
As the animals would live quite close to people and be regularly fed, they would become quite familiar to residents and there would be no predators or other outside danger to them, so they would become quite tame, and would be in view from the homes in the park.
One person would be employed by the estate as wildlife warden, and they would look after the animals, make sure all feeders were replenished and do any additional grass cutting or tidying up necessary to keep the place looking nice.
It is possible that a path around the reserve could be organized, perhaps going behind the waterfall, and arranged so as to not cause a nuisance to wildlife or house holders, that would be available to estate occupants and by arrangement for school trips and others to visit, supervised by the on site wildlife warden.
Could it be done
Planning consent for something like this would never be straight forward, but would be an improvement to the area. Giving access to schools could make it attractive to the wider community and get a lot of support.
Technically it could be achieved. It may be necessary to get other land to install a tank, and reed beds if mains sewer connections are not available. Heat pumps, water recycling and other technologies would be able to be applied as the site was being set out.
We would need more advice from those involved with wildlife, so as to get the mix of animals to occupy the estate in the right balance.
On the economics side, given that old quarries are of little value you would have a lot of scope within the resulting plot values to cover the landscaping and other tasks that would be necessary.
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