William Blythe Chemical Works site

The Client:

RSK Environmental Ltd

The Brief:

To deliver essential horticultural maintenance services to a recently completed landfill restoration project at a former East Lancashire chemical plant in Hapton.

The former William Blythe Chemical Works site was the base for chemical manufacture from the late 1800’s to 2006.  Over 70,000 square metres of the original 38-acre site has been converted into a nature haven, home to a wide variety of wildlife.

Lynne Houlbrooke, the senior landscape architect for RSK Environment Ltd, said:

“The establishment of a landscape scheme is the final stage of a restoration process that will physically and aesthetically integrate the site with its wider context in the Calder Valley.  Management and maintenance operations across the site are the key to the successful establishment of healthy landscape features, which include woodland blocks, hedgerows, wild floral grassland and marginal and aquatic vegetation within the lagoon and ditches.”

A dedicated team from Glendale undertake a range of services at the former chemical plant including the management of wildflower meadows and new woodland.

The site is home to a plethora of wildlife including nesting Lapwing, a species of bird that is fully protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, making it an offence to disturb an active nest.

The green space management specialist monitors the nesting birds as part of its regular site inspections prior to carrying out any work, and modify the schedule so as not to disturb the birds during nesting season.