Ouse Fen

In the Cambridgeshire Fens, once part of one of Europe's great wetland wildernesses, an ambitious scheme is underway to restore a working sand and gravel quarry to a vast nature reserve with extensive reedbeds, open water and grassland.

Hanson Aggregates and the RSPB are working together to create an exciting new nature reserve at Needingworth Quarry, between Huntingdon and Cambridge. The project involves the phased creation of a wetland nature reserve following the extraction of 28 million tonnes of sand and gravel over the next 30 years. Much of this aggregate will be used for building in the Cambridge Growth Area.

The project has been designed to create habitats of high value to wildlife and incorporate 32 km of new public access. The 700 ha wetland will include the biggest reedbed in the UK, some 460 ha. It is being constructed in phases over the next 30 years in 20-40 ha blocks divided by low earth banks.

Contact information

Eastern England Regional Office
Stalham House
65 Thorpe Road
Norwich
NR1 1UD
Telephone: 01603 661662

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