Wild Peak Project: Holybank Quarry

Nestled in the northern edges of the Peak District is the quaint village of Tintwistle. I had the pleasure of visiting the village quarry, which the Parish Council are reverting back to nature, using nature-based solutions to improve the sites quality for wildlife. I met with Marianne Stevens, who chairs the Tinwistle Parish Council and manages the Holybank Quarry, to take a walk around the quarry to talk about this fantastic project they have taken on.

Tintwistle Parish Council contacted Derbyshire Wildlife Trust back in 2021 to ask for advice on how to rewild the site. Our Nature Recovery Team at the Trust put together a management plan which aims to help Tintwistle Quarry to aid their ecosystem restoration and rewilding in the area. The quarry was established in the late 1800s to supply stone for the Manchester Water Corporation’s Longdendale Reservoirs. In the mid 1900’s the demand for such stone dried up. The land at that time was owned by United Utilities who approached Tintwistle Parish Council, it is believed in the 1980’s, to manage the site.

Holybank Quarry Tintwistle — Holybank Quarry (c) Kayleigh Wright

The quarry is predominantly moorland which then gradually moves into semi-natural broadleaf woodland with silver birch and hawthorn. Two sections of dense scrub and mature woodland are present along the quarry boundary. The quarry walls provide a home for a number of birds such as kestrels, peregrine falcons, ravens and has historical records of ring ouzel calling from the cliffs.

Peter Girdlestone, who is Volunteer Quarry Warden, organises the volunteer group to carry out work on the quarry. He is required to visit the site on a regular basis and report his findings to the Tintwistle Parish Council. The volunteer group working on the quarry are taking an approach with a small amount of human intervention, to allow the site to naturally flourish.

The Volunteer Group has completed several litter picks, maintained access to the quarry by clearing the overgrowth from the path leading to the quarry, pruned trees where they overhang the main pedestrian routes, removed a number of invasive tree saplings, identified trees, shrubs and plants and begun to log these findings. There is a naturally occurring water feature in the quarry which has already benefitted amphibians. The original drainage ditch, dating back to the working quarry days, has been partially restored and is already preventing the flooding of Old Road at the bottom of the quarry path. An area of heather has been cut back to allow for the native grasses to grow. A new area for cutting back will be chosen next year and an area has been designated to place corrugated metal sheets to provide shelter for wildlife.

Staff and children of the village Primary School have made several visits to the quarry, which have been very successful. The children have been excited and interested in all that the quarry area has to offer.

A drone photographer has provided the volunteer group with excellent aerial photographs of the site and volunteers are assembling an archive of photos of wildlife and plant life through the seasons.

Through natural processes being mimicked, diversity will expand in the quarry. The heathland will no longer be dominated by one to two plants, instead hosting several different heathland species. The flora will support a large population of invertebrates and pollinators, having beneficial impacts further up the food chain as the site is home to a mixture of reptiles, birds and mammals.

The quarry is now a healthy ecosystem, teeming with life, it has become an important site to local people, continuing to draw in walkers and nature lovers. The success of this project has resulted in the local area welcoming more greenspaces that are being managed for nature and allowing them to become wilder. This creates a green corridor and a Nature Recovery Network around Tintwistle, allowing species to move through the landscape and giving nature a space to recover.