Blue-green infrastructure on mineral sites

Former mineral extraction sites are a legacy of the UK’s varied geology and industrial history. Together with current operations, they offer significant opportunities for formal or informal provision of blue-green infrastructure (BGI). Many, such as for construction materials and major infrastructure developments, are close to or within expanding urban areas. Mineral sites may naturally cluster and interconnect through former haul roads or mineral railways, providing the connectivity at a landscape scale that is critical to their functionality as BGI. Increasingly, they are recognised as a unique opportunity to compensate for habitat loss and address biodiversity goals at the landscape scale. The process of creating BGI on former mineral sites is analogous to natural colonisation and succession and there are already well established protocols for direct restoration to woodland. The longevity of mineral extraction favours both natural regeneration and seclusion for species, but site conditions may be challenging for habitat creation and any mandated net gains in biodiversity. However, the economic value of mineral resource extraction provides possible funding and leverage through planning towards BGI creation. The key stages for BGI on mineral deposits are described, then case studies are suggested.