DISCOVER HIDDEN BEDDINGTON: COMMUNITY OPEN DAYS AT THE FARMLANDS

DISCOVER HIDDEN BEDDINGTON: COMMUNITY OPEN DAYS AT THE FARMLANDS

  

Bird Watchers Paradise, in partnership with the Beddington Farmland Bird Group and MKA Ecology – Tuesday 23^rd August – 10.00 & 13.00

Beddington Farmlands Walks, hosted by the Viridor Beddington Team - Sunday 11^th – 10.00 & 12.00.

The Viridor team at the Beddington Farmlands are hosting two open days this summer for members of the community to safely explore the restored farmlands, operational landfill site, and energy recovery facility (ERF) construction project.

Currently the landfill site at Beddington receives residual waste from the households of the South London Waste Partnership.  In the future the  £205m Beddington ERF, currently under construction,  will safely transform non-recycled waste from the four London Boroughs (Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton) into 26 MW of electricity – enough to power approximately 30,000 homes and the facility itself.

Guided tours will give visitors the opportunity to hear about the history of the site (originally a Victorian sewerage treatment facility), see what currently happens to household waste after it has been put in the bin and learn about the new technology and processes involved in energy recovery, that will be used to treat this waste in the future. Visitors will also discover the restoration work that is creating a haven for wildlife and enjoy panoramic views of the South London skyline.

The restoration of the landfill site is being overseen by the Conservation and Access Management Committee (CAMC).  The CAMC brings together Sutton Council and local community representatives in an advisory manner to work in partnership with Viridor to deliver the effective restoration of the Beddington Farmlands site.  The long-term aim for the site is for it to become one of the foremost nature conservation areas in Greater London, with public access providing opportunities for local people to enjoy and experience wildlife on their doorstep.

Councillor Nighat Piracha, Chair of the Conservation and Access Management Committee (CAMC), said: “On behalf of the CAMC we are delighted to be able support these opportunities for the local community to access the Beddington Farmlands. We are working with Viridor to restore the site into a rich network of ecological habitats with areas for the public to access in the future.  However whilst the landfill site is operational we are delivering open days so that community can check up on the restoration works and enjoy the Beddington Farmlands.”

Ian Morrish, Director of Landfill Energy for Viridor said of the open days: “Being able to show the communities of South London what we do is vitally important. Every day we are offering a range of services to the South London Waste Partnership, and soon we will be diverting residual waste produced by households in the area away from landfill too. Once we finish landfilling we will start restoring the site, and once established, the community will be able to benefit from this open space. These open days offer a sneak peek into the progress we are making.”

The open days are free of charge, but sessions will have limited spaces with bookings made on a first come first serve basis. Anyone interested in booking onto an open day should contact Andrew Turner, Communications Business Partner, on 07500 338183 or via the email address Beddington@viridor.co.uk.

PS. This is obviously written by Viridor but could be a step in the right direction??