Port expansion threatens wildlife, warns charity

17 hours ago

Lewis AdamsEssex

Wall brown butterflies are among those at risk of losing their habitat, according to Buglife

Iain Perkins A Wall Brown butterfly. It is on dry, grey soil. The butterfly is a mix of orangey/yellow and black colours. — Wall brown butterflies are among those at risk of losing their habitat, according to Buglife

More work must be done to protect wildlife after plans to expand the Port of Tilbury were approved, a charity warned.

Buglife said losing greenbelt land for the Tilbury3 project in Essex was a blow for the area's "beleaguered wildlife", which includes rare bees and butterflies.

Thurrock Council approved the port's expansion plan at a meeting on Tuesday, where it was told new habitats would be created for species affected by the development.

But Jamie Robins, from Buglife, said: "We cannot keep losing key wildlife sites and relying on future promises to create habitats using unproven techniques."

The charity has warned of "irreversible losses of species" such as the shrill carder bee and the critically endangered stripe-eyed paragus hoverfly.

Tilbury3 will be built on land that once housed a power station on the banks of the River Thames

Forth Ports An aerial shot of the Port of Tilbury, which has lots of containers stored on the banks of the River Thames. The shot shows a large green field next to a muddy brownfield site, both of which will be used to build Tilbury3. — Tilbury3 will be built on land that once housed a power station on the banks of the River Thames

The site earmarked for development sits across both green and grey belt land east of the existing Port of Tilbury and Tilbury2, on the north bank of the Thames estuary.

Robins, the charity's programmes manager, said building on the land would undermine efforts to reverse declining invertebrate numbers.

"We urgently need to see a coordinated masterplan to secure the future of Thurrock's wildlife," he added.

But Stuart Wallace, chief executive of Forth Ports, said new habitats created as part of the expansion would "protect and enhance" the area's nature.

Council meeting papers showed Natural England and the Environment Agency had been consulted on the plan since 2022.

Papers said the scheme's effects were "fully mitigated and compensated", with a 69-acre (28ha) "compensation site" planned at Mucking Marshes landfill.