CONSERVATIONISTS say Thurrock’s delicate and nationally significant wildlife sites faced a mixed outcome after councillors approved a major expansion of the Port of Tilbury but rejected controversial plans to extend Orsett Quarry reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
Campaigners had urged the planning committee to block both schemes, warning that each posed severe risks to some of the country’s most important invertebrate habitats.
While the committee refused permission for quarry works at Buckingham Hill Pit Local Wildlife Site, it granted consent for Tilbury3 – a large scale port expansion that conservationists say will pave over unique ashfields and threaten species found in only a handful of UK locations.
The Tilbury3 scheme, approved on Tuesday, will extend operations across part of the West Tilbury Marshes Local Wildlife Site, including rare Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA) habitats described by ecologists as being of “SSSI quality”.
These ashfields are home to the Critically Endangered stripe eyed paragus hoverfly, the Vulnerable great sneak spider, the Endangered wall butterfly and the nationally declining shrill carder bee.
Buglife’s programmes manager Jamie Robins said the decision marked “a mixed day for Thurrock’s beleaguered wildlife”, praising the committee for rejecting the Buckingham Hill Pit proposal but warning that the Tilbury3 approval represented “the gradual erosion of the Local Wildlife Site network that underpins Essex’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy”.
Port representatives argued the expansion was essential for regional and national economic growth.
Planning consultant Hardeep Ryatt Vincent said the port already supported thousands of jobs and described the new development as “economically transformative”, forecasting 6,000 local jobs and a £400 million annual boost to the economy once operational.
He said environmental assessments had been “rigorously scrutinised” and highlighted the port’s previous habitat creation work at Mucking.
But Conservative councillor Jacqui Maney raised concerns about the ecological toll, noting more than 1,190 species recorded on the site, including 185 rare or threatened.
Other councillors backed the scheme, calling the location appropriate for industrial expansion.
Earlier in the meeting, councillors unanimously rejected proposals to expand Orsett Quarry, citing pollution, road safety and the destruction of valuable wildlife habitat. Members labelled the plans “unwanted” and “a risk to health”, warning they would subject residents to years of noise, dust and heavy vehicle traffic.
Campaigners say the port decision add to pressure on Thurrock’s already threatened natural landscape, much of which has been squeezed by previous port expansion and the approved Lower Thames Crossing.
