Lane End, The Bug Shack, Brindle Close, Buckley, Flintshire, CH7 3FB (By Appointment)
On street parking
Grid Reference SJ 288 640
5.3 hectares
By appointment only
Contact 01978 757524 | [email protected]
Access
Lane End was previously operated by Hansons as a brickworks, with clay quarrying ceasing in 2000. Extraction activities created a number of large waterbodies, one of which was found to support great crested newts. After the brickworks closed in 2003 the site ownership was transferred to Redrow Homes ltd. Redrow contract Wild Ground to manage the ecology and restore habitat as part of their planning conditions to build residential dwellings.
Habitats
Lane end is a newly created reserve, and has been planted with oaks Quercus petraea and Q.robur, heather Calluna vulgaris, silver birch, hazel Corylus avellana, willow Salix caprea and S.cinerea, rowan Sorbus aucuparia and bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus. There are 45 waterbodies on the reserve.
Notable species
- Mammals: Badger, Fox, Rabbit
- Amphibians: Great crested newt, Palmate newt, Smooth newt, Common frog, Common toad
- Birds: Linnet, Tufted duck, Lapwing, Snipe, Black headed gull, Herring gull, Heron, Black redstart, Mallard
- Butterflies: Peacock, Orange tip, Gatekeeper, Common blue, Dingy skipper, Green-veined white
Special Features
Prior to construction of the houses and waterbodies, a total 2,261 great crested newts, 31,483 small newts, 55 common toads and 28 common frogs were found and translocated to suitable habitats in Knowle Hill, until the new reserve was complete.
Management
Management includes thinning of planted woodland, ensuring the waterbodies are in a favourable condition for newts and other species, and surveying species on the site.
