Brownfield sites are derelict industrial wastelands and hardly glamorous – but some have become outstanding natural havens.
Swanscombe peninsula in the Thames estuary was used for quarrying chalk and aggregate, cement works, gas works and landfill. When the industry moved out, the poor soil left behind was colonised by rare plants that could not survive on fertile land elsewhere.
And so Swanscombe, in Dartford, Kent, has become home to the extremely rare man orchid among other varieties, the scarce yellow vetchling, slender hare’s-ear, round-leaved wintergreen and divided sedge.
There are also reptiles, bats, water voles, otters, nightingales, the highly endangered distinguished jumping spider, the shrill carder bee – one of the UK’s rarest bumblebees – and the scarce tentacled lagoon-worm.
Swanscombe has more rare and threatened species than any other brownfield site in the UK, and in 2021 was designated a site of special scientific interest by Natural England, the government’s adviser for the natural environment. It is also one of the last remaining large brownfield sites in the Thames estuary – yet its future hangs in the balance.
A multibillion-pound Disney-style theme park was proposed for the site, and though the plans were withdrawn after protests, the developer wants to submit a revised planning application.
