Tarmac has agreed a long-term plan to restore Hendre Quarry, a 62-hectare site near Rhydymwyn village in Flintshire. Located in the Clwydian Range and bordering the Coed y Felin Nature Reserve, Hendre Quarry is surrounded by ancient woodland and grassland.
The restoration commitment will build on a sustained partnership between Tarmac and North Wales Wildlife Trust, which sees Tarmac fund the woodland and estate management activities carried out by the charity at Coed y Felin. This includes footpath maintenance, tree safety works and scrub thinning to allow ancient trees and rare flowers to thrive.
The site is also home to populations of the rare Deptford Pink, a delicate wildflower once found in open grassland but now considered scarce across the UK due to habitat loss. Recent monitoring recorded around 100 flowering plants and a further 30 rosettes at Hendre Quarry, demonstrating the importance of careful habitat management.
Tarmac’s support has enabled North Wales Wildlife Trust’s ecological specialists, to actively manage the species through practical conservation work including scything grassland, removing encroaching scrub and creating areas of disturbed ground where the plant can successfully germinate and spread. These measures are designed to help strengthen the population and expand the plant’s local range across the site.
Tarmac is committed to the wider restoration and long-term maintenance of Hendre Quarry. This work includes grassland and woodland management, effective water management, and measures to ensure safe public access. With open areas of limestone that will provide vital early successional habitat for pioneer wildflowers and rare invertebrates.
Tarmac has 39 partnerships within the UK and actively supports partners such as North Wales Wildlife Trust, as they deliver multiple benefits for local communities and habitats, helping maintain and transform former quarry sites into places we are all proud of.
An active limestone quarry for over 100 years, Hendre was granted an extension in 2021, allowing for the extraction of 28 million tonnes of essential construction materials and safeguarding 17 jobs on site and an additional 50 through the supply chain.
Limestone from the site has been used in several major infrastructure projects across North Wales and England, including for the Mersey Gateway Crossing and the M6 Smart Motorway.
The restoration commitment will see the site made safe for public access once it ceases operation in 2055.
Jenny Oldroyd, restoration manager at Tarmac, said: “Hendre Quarry has long been an asset for the community, providing vital materials for housing and infrastructure projects and good jobs for local people, during the lifetime of the quarry, and once active working ceases, we pride ourselves on being a considerate steward of that land, Tarmac is committed to restoring the quarry and ensuring it continues to benefit the local community long beyond its working life, allowing future generations to safely enjoy the site and its rich biodiversity.”
Paul Furnborough, Reserves Officer at North Wales Wildlife Trust, said: “Coed y Felin is a fantastic wild space all through the year, with a circular walk as well as a wheelchair accessible route and parking. In spring you are treated to a sea of bluebells and wood anemones, and a flurry of bird activity including stunning pied flycatchers. These colours transition through the vivid greens of summer leaves to autumnal reds, oranges and yellows, alongside an array of fascinating fungi fruiting across the reserve before winter.”
