Mersey Reporter - Merseybites News

IN 2025 the National Trust Formby will be starting a major conservation project to remove huge amounts of rubble and restore rare sand dune habitats in the Victoria Road (Red Squirrel Reserve) area in Freshfield.

The National Trust have said that:- "This project will bring long lasting benefits for both people and wildlife. As we start to prepare the site for the project work, we’re going back to where it all began and answering some frequently asked questions about the rubble. We have issued the following information to explain what will happen to it..."

What will happen to the rubble?

The team have spent many years working with conservation experts to explore potential solutions to the issues the rubble is causing for wildlife and people.
An options analysis was carried out for the planning application and Environmental Impact Assessment, including:- removing the rubble by sea or land, re-purposing it for a replacement car park in various locations on site, or leaving it as is.
Processing and reusing the rubble on-site in an existing hollow as the sub-base for a replacement car park further inland was the most viable solution to create bigger, more connected, and healthier dune habitats for wildlife.
Unusable elements will be safely transported off site.
Recycling the rubble in this way will also ensure there is space for people to park and enjoy Formby for years to come.

The image below shows the Victoria Road beach car park back in the 1980s and the rough location of where the sand dunes are today; that is around 1/3 of the parking spaces have been reclaimed by natural dune rollback.

Find out more about this conservation project, please visit:- NationalTrust.Org.UK

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