Brownfield Award finalist for Best Biodiversity Enhancement

Ramboll facilitated the restoration of habitats and created ecological enhancements at the Greenburn Surface Mine through a more than 20-year collaboration with Kier Minerals Ltd, part of the wider Kier Group Plc. Effective stakeholder communication has been at the core of the project’s success, creating a site that has benefited biodiversity and the community. 

Ramboll provided a range of key ecological services and consultancy for the 227-hectare Greenburn Surface Mine site, East Ayrshire, since the project’s pre-development stage in 1998—work that continues today through monitoring of the species and habitats on site post-restoration. 

Prior to the development of the mine, the site contained a number of habitats of low biodiversity value, with the vast majority of the area dominated by heavily grazed agricultural grasslands and remnant patches of degraded peatland. To facilitate the development of an operational site for the mine, these habitats of low biodiversity value were removed but habitats of higher biodiversity value were retained, where possible.

In its role as a specialist ecological adviser to Kier Minerals, Ramboll was brought on board to help avoid or reduce any impacts to habitats and species during the development and operation of the mine, as far as possible, as well as advising on and monitoring the eventual restoration of the site. 

To ensure that all restoration targets could be achieved, a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) was produced for the site, setting out the key species and habitats present, the measures to protect and restore them and the subsequent monitoring required between 2011 and 2025. The plan has undergone considerable changes and updates since its initial publication due to the adaptive management approach that was adopted.

Through effective and pragmatic biodiversity action and with close collaboration with Ramboll, Kier Minerals was not only able to restore Greenburn to its pre-mine conditions but has helped the site to far surpass its former biodiversity value. 

The site now supports a diverse range of habitats and species, and showcases a number of key ecological successes, including an enhanced restoration area with an artificial badger sett; a large seasonal wetland supporting a variety of bird species, including species new to the area; creation of rich bird nesting habitat; and enhanced bat roosting and foraging habitats.