CEMEX UK
  • COVID-19
    • Our Response To Coronavirus COVID 19
    • Physical Distancing on Construction Sites
  • Products & Services
    • Products
      • Concrete
      • Cement
      • Asphalt
      • Aggregates
      • Mortar Products
      • Dry Silo Mortar
      • Screed
      • Masonry Products
      • Concrete Block Paving
      • Rail Products
      • Floor Systems
      • Admixtures
    • Services
      • Construction Material Testing Service
      • Agricultural Building Supplies
      • Housing Solutions
      • Concrete For Tunnelling
      • Flood Solutions
      • Road Paving Solutions
      • Service Promise
      • Concrete Pump Hire
    • Other
      • Architects & Engineers
      • Recycling And Landfill
      • Product Support
      • Asphalt Calculator
      • Concrete Calculator
      • CE Marks
      • Trading Terms & Conditions
  • Find A Plant
  • Quote Requests
    • Get a Quotation
    • Flooring Systems Quotations
    • Concrete Calculator
    • Asphalt Calculator
  • CEMEX Go
    • Register For CEMEX Go
      • Customer Registration
      • Non Customer Registration
    • Paperless Invoicing
    • Learning Hub
      • FAQs
      • Preparing to Buy
      • User Management
      • Customer Information
      • Commercial Conditions
      • Order & Product Catalogue
      • Track
      • Invoices
      • Payments
      • New Features
  • Sustainability
    • Environmental
      • Sustainable Construction
      • Environment & Biodiversity
      • Restoration & Conservation
      • Conservation & Nature Books
      • Wildlife Management
    • Communities
      • Health & Safety
      • Cemex Communities
    • Social Impact
      • Operating As A Responsible Business
      • Community Investment Pillars
      • CEMEX Foundation
      • Lend a hand CEMEX Unite Volunteering
      • CEMEX-Tec Award
      • Social Impact Practices Booklet
  • Media
    • Useful Guides & Documents
      • Building Products Guides & Advice
      • Documents & Downloads
      • CE Marks
    • Press Releases
      • 2021 Press Releases
      • 2020 Press Releases
      • 2019 Press Releases
      • 2018 Press Releases
      • 2017 Press Releases
    • News Stories
      • RSS Feed
    • Events
      • Webinars
      • UK Construction Week
      • Cafe Concrete
      • Future Build
  • Careers
    • Work For CEMEX
      • Current Vacancies
      • Career Development
      • Job Application
    • The Workplace
      • What We Do
      • Our Vision
      • Our People
      • Our Values
      • Diversity
      • Women in CEMEX UK
      • Gender Pay Gap
      • Apprenticeships
  • Contact Us
  • About CEMEX
    • The Company
      • Company Profile
      • History of CEMEX
      • CEMEX Values
      • Our Approach
      • Innovative Solutions
      • Building Better
      • CEMEX Projects
    • Corporate Behaviour
      • Ethics & Compliance
      • Modern Slavery Act
      • CEMEX Tax Strategy In The UK
  • COVID-19
    • Our Response To Coronavirus COVID 19
    • Physical Distancing on Construction Sites
  • Products & Services
    • Products
      • Concrete
      • Cement
      • Asphalt
      • Aggregates
      • Mortar Products
      • Dry Silo Mortar
      • Screed
      • Masonry Products
      • Concrete Block Paving
      • Rail Products
      • Floor Systems
      • Admixtures
    • Services
      • Construction Material Testing Service
      • Agricultural Building Supplies
      • Housing Solutions
      • Concrete For Tunnelling
      • Flood Solutions
      • Road Paving Solutions
      • Service Promise
      • Concrete Pump Hire
    • Other
      • Architects & Engineers
      • Recycling And Landfill
      • Product Support
      • Asphalt Calculator
      • Concrete Calculator
      • CE Marks
      • Trading Terms & Conditions
  • Find A Plant
  • Quote Requests
    • Get a Quotation
    • Flooring Systems Quotations
    • Concrete Calculator
    • Asphalt Calculator
    Location Finder Find your location
  • CEMEX Go
    • Register For CEMEX Go
      • Customer Registration
      • Non Customer Registration
    • Paperless Invoicing
    • Learning Hub
      • FAQs
      • Preparing to Buy
      • User Management
      • Customer Information
      • Commercial Conditions
      • Order & Product Catalogue
      • Track
      • Invoices
      • Payments
      • New Features
  • Sustainability
    • Environmental
      • Sustainable Construction
      • Environment & Biodiversity
      • Restoration & Conservation
      • Conservation & Nature Books
      • Wildlife Management
    • Communities
      • Health & Safety
      • Cemex Communities
    • Social Impact
      • Operating As A Responsible Business
      • Community Investment Pillars
      • CEMEX Foundation
      • Lend a hand CEMEX Unite Volunteering
      • CEMEX-Tec Award
      • Social Impact Practices Booklet
    Sustainable construction Sustainable construction
  • Media
    • Useful Guides & Documents
      • Building Products Guides & Advice
      • Documents & Downloads
      • CE Marks
    • Press Releases
      • 2021 Press Releases
      • 2020 Press Releases
      • 2019 Press Releases
      • 2018 Press Releases
      • 2017 Press Releases
    • News Stories
      • RSS Feed
    • Events
      • Webinars
      • UK Construction Week
      • Cafe Concrete
      • Future Build
    Press releases Press releases
  • Careers
    • Work For CEMEX
      • Current Vacancies
      • Career Development
      • Job Application
    • The Workplace
      • What We Do
      • Our Vision
      • Our People
      • Our Values
      • Diversity
      • Women in CEMEX UK
      • Gender Pay Gap
      • Apprenticeships
    Women in CEMEX Cemex Employees
  • Contact Us
  • About CEMEX
    • The Company
      • Company Profile
      • History of CEMEX
      • CEMEX Values
      • Our Approach
      • Innovative Solutions
      • Building Better
      • CEMEX Projects
    • Corporate Behaviour
      • Ethics & Compliance
      • Modern Slavery Act
      • CEMEX Tax Strategy In The UK
    Our approach FIND OUT MORE
Restoration & Conservation
  • CEMEX UK
  • Sustainability
  • Environmental
  • Restoration & Conservation
  • Berkswell Quarry
  • Share This

    Share This Page:

Marsh Lane Nature Reserve - Berkswell Quarry

Rare birds flock to Marsh Lane Nature Reserve following restoration

Working with the landowners, Packington Estates and Natural England, CEMEX UK has transformed former sand and gravel pits at Berkswell Quarry in the UK's Midlands into a 22-hectare nature reserve. Marsh Lane Nature Reserve attracts a variety of rare birds and is an important conservation area for the local community.

Bird-viewing hide over the lake at Marsh Lane Nature Reserve

Rare species found at Marsh Lakes Nature Reserve:

  • Golden plover
  • Black kites
  • Little egrets

"The area used to be agricultural land and was quarried for sand and gravel. We were left with a hole in the ground which we had to do something with. We felt a conservation area was a good thing to do with it. It is on green belt so housing or industrial development wasn't going to be an option but we felt conservation was important." Nicholas Barlow, Estate Manager at Marsh Lane Nature Reserve.

Background

CEMEX relies on raw materials such as limestone, sand, gravel and clay to make its cement and concrete products. These are essential for building the roads, schools and homes that society needs, but quarrying the materials has the potential to degrade habitats and damage species unless the land is carefully managed. We are determined to have a positive impact on nature by promoting a diverse range of habitats and species while quarries are active, and by rehabilitating disused sites. By restoring former quarry sites we also provide communities with new nature reserves and education and leisure facilities.

The extraction of sand and gravel from the Berkswell Quarry between Solihull and Coventry began in 1995 and ended in 1999. CEMEX UK worked with the landowners to rehabilitate the site when quarrying ceased. We finished this work in 2001 and opened the restored site, known as Marsh Lane Nature Reserve, to the public. The reserve lies in the floodplain of the River Blythe, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is split by the former old Kenilworth Road, which is now a footpath.

Actions

CEMEX UK worked with the site owners and Estate Manager to establish the nature reserve. We rehabilitated the area over a two-year period, creating three main pools. The reserve also has a woodland area, grassland, ponds and some agricultural land.

We reshaped two of the main pools to include a number of islands, which attract a range of breeding and passing wading birds. We set aside a five-acre field to provide food and cover for finches and buntings and, in winter, over 100 yellowhammers, 60 reed buntings and 300 linnets flock to the area.

In 2010, Natural England helped us to shape a further 16 acres of former farmland at the site into wet grassland. This provides extra feeding and breeding habitat for waders.

The site owners wanted the community to benefit from the land and to encourage visitors. We constructed four hides to give excellent views of the pools and islands, and two further hides which overlook the wet grassland area. These two hides are linked by several pathways through the 13-acre Siden Hill Wood.

Outcomes

Marsh Lane Nature Reserve is one of the best sites in the West Midlands for bird watching. By March 2011, as many as 192 bird species had been observed at the site, including spotted sandpiper, grey phalarope and black kite. Every year, little egrets are found in the nature reserve and in winter up to 400 wigeon, 850 golden plover and 1000 lapwing are regular visitors.

Biodiversity strategy

With help from experts at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), we have developed an ambitious ten-year biodiversity strategy. This sets challenging targets, including our goal to create and maintain, by 2020, 1,000 hectares of habitats identified by the UK Government as conservation priorities.

For more information

For more information please contact us.

Marsh Lane Nature Reserve

Download Case Study

Visit the CEMEX ARG Website
ARG
Visit the CEMEX CHE Website
CHE
Visit the CEMEX COL Website
COL
Visit the CEMEX CRI Website
CRI
Visit the CEMEX CZE Website
CZE
Visit the CEMEX DOM Website
DOM
Visit the CEMEX EGY Website
EGY
Visit the CEMEX ESP Website
ESP
Visit the CEMEX FIN Website
FIN
Visit the CEMEX FRA Website
FRA
Visit the CEMEX GBR Website
GBR
Visit the CEMEX HRV Website
HRV
Visit the CEMEX ISR Website
ISR
Visit the CEMEX IVA Website
IVA
Visit the CEMEX MEX Website
MEX
Visit the CEMEX NOR Website
NOR
Visit the CEMEX PAN Website
PAN
Visit the CEMEX PER Website
PER
Visit the CEMEX PHI Website
PHI
Visit the CEMEX POL Website
POL
Visit the CEMEX PRI Website
PRI
Visit the CEMEX RUS Website
RUS
Visit the CEMEX SWE Website
SWE
Visit the CEMEX UAE Website
UAE
Visit the CEMEX USA Website
USA
Visit the CEMEX GER Website
GER
Visit the CEMEX NIC Website
NIC
This website uses cookies to deliver you a better experience. Using this website means you are okay with this. Please check our Privacy Policy for additional details. I understand
  • Sitemap
  • Site Terms & Conditions
  • Cookie Policy
  • Careers
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • © 2020 CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V.
  • CEMEX-UK
  • Visit our channel on Facebook
  • Visit our channel on Twitter
  • Visit our channel on LinkedIn
  • Visit our channel on Youtube