Rubble dumped on Coventry green belt threatens wildlife

[TrueBlueTerrier]

BADGERS, reptiles and nesting birds have been put in danger after a construction team dumped thousands of tonnes of rubble on Coventry’s green belt.

Contractors building the new Royal Mail sorting office next to Orchard Retail Park on London Road, tipped huge amounts of dirt on to a wildlife-rich swathe of land by the side of the nearby A46 Eastern Bypass.

Coventry City Council has served an enforcement notice on Mondial Investments Ltd, the company responsible for the land, forcing them to shift the dirt.

But ecologists claim the damage to the area, which is on the opposite side of the A46 to PC World and Halfords, has already put animals at risk.

Richard Sykes, who oversees planning applications in the outer areas of Coventry, said: “That land has ecological value as a wildlife habitat for nesting birds, badgers and various protected species.

“If you just dump huge amounts of material on areas where wildlife live it could have huge impacts on those animals.

“If there are reptiles living in the undergrowth and you dump tonnes of stuff on top of it, it will destroy their habitat.


“And if you have badgers in the area they could possibly get blocked in their setts. We can’t tell exactly what it’s done but it’s probably going to kill off that habitat.”

Landowners Mondial Investments Ltd have until June next year to properly dispose of the rubble and return the green belt to its former state.

If the work isn’t done in time the firm could face legal action and fines.

The contractors dug up the dirt on the new Royal Mail site next to Willenhall Wood and transported it across the A46 via an underpass, dumping it on the other side.

Mr Sykes said: “It’s a substantial amount of spoil that’s been dumped and the land level has been raised by between one and five metres.

“I would have thought that on a project of that scale someone would have taken proper soundings.

“If you have thousands of tonnes of stuff you don’t just dump it somewhere and expect no one to notice. You need a proper plan for dealing with it.

“If wildlife was there and has been killed, it’s hard to know what you can do about that, but you can restore the habitat.”

The Royal Mail development in the south of the city, together with another in the north of the city at Blue Ribbon Park are replacing the city centre sorting office in Bishop Street.



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