Over 1000 trees were planted this week on the 1st of December to continue the work in turning the Finedon engineering compound into a wildlife haven.

Work began back in April by Amey and Network Rail to develop the site once the Bedford and Corby electrification work had been completed.

Over the last couple of months, the site has been landscaped to turn the site into a wildlife habitat to help protected species.

The local community helped the teams plant the trees for the new nature reserve, which will hopefully attract birds, butterflies, and bees.

Grasslands, wetlands and open woodland will also make up the nature reserve along with ponds, which are the correct habitat for great crested newts.

Hamish Critchell-Ward, Environmental Manager for Network Rail’s East Midlands route, said: “It’s really exciting to see the difference already – from a heavy engineering site to a tranquil home for nature. I’m so proud of our teams for working together to plant around 1200 trees.”

“The landscaping was carried out earlier this year, but we needed to wait for the change in the weather to give the trees and other vegetation the best chance of survival. I’d like to thank the community for working with us on this innovative project, which is allowing us to explore new ways to balance biodiversity with improvements to the railway.”

Michael Whitehead, Principal Environmentalist, Amey Consulting, said: “This Furnace Lane habitat creation scheme will give a wealth of benefits to four hectares of land that would otherwise have been left unused. While favouring Great Crested Newts, the landscaping and tree planting by our willing band of volunteers should encourage a biodiverse range of flora and fauna to thrive on the land for many years to come.”

Cllr Harriet Pentland, North Northamptonshire Council’s Executive Member for Climate and Green Environment, said: “This is such a great project, and it was wonderful to see the progress that has been made onsite since I last visited in August. The planting of 1000 new trees will have so many biodiversity benefits, including the creation of new habitats and contributing to the sequestration of carbon emissions.”

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