Wild Belfast and Buglife have come together to highlight what they describe as an alarming loss of wildlife-rich brownfield habitat across Belfast. Some brownfield sites in Belfast can support rare and endangered wildlife, including well-loved species such as Red-shanked Carder Bee (Bombus ruderarius), Common Lizard (Zootoca vivipara) and Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus). However, many of these nature hotspots are at risk from being lost to development, as the charities explain.
“The state of Belfast’s brownfields: nature under threat” 2024 report shows that over a seven-year period, 40% of 47 brownfield sites that Buglife had previously identified as important for wildlife in Belfast have been lost, damaged or are in immediate threat. Concerningly, when live planning applications are also considered, over 60% of the total area of this vital habitat has either been lost or is under immediate threat- with potentially profound impacts for nature in the city.
Brownfields can support a huge diversity of wildlife, often providing refuges for species which have suffered population crashes as a result of habitat loss, such as wildflower meadows disappearing from the landscape. They can include quarries, disused railways lines, spoil heaps, even former industrial estates that have been allowed to develop into urban havens for wildlife. Sadly, despite often being the last remaining ‘wild’ green spaces in Belfast’s neighbourhoods, brownfields are frequently targeted for development.
Conor McKinney, Chair of the Wild Belfast community group says, “Now is a critical period for the protection of biodiversity. Our planning system offers the potential to protect and enhance biodiversity- or to destroy it. Despite being a priority habitat our planning system is currently failing to protect wildlife-rich brownfield sites in Belfast, or indeed across Northern Ireland. Nature and planning authorities must seize the opportunities available to them to protect these sites for nature and the communities with which they share these valuable wild urban spaces”.
Buglife has previously identified and measured the extent of brownfields important for invertebrates in a 2017 report- a habitat often referred to as ‘Open mosaic habitat on previously developed land’. Shortly after that report, the habitat was listed as a conservation priority in Northern Ireland. However, this new study that revisits these sites suggests that despite this commitment, these important wildlife sites are still being lost, hindering the city’s nature recovery ambitions.
Jamie Robins, Programmes Manager of Buglife says, “Brownfields which have been reclaimed by nature are becoming increasingly important for our rare invertebrates as the wider countryside is degraded. We need to do more to protect these wildlife havens. The remaining wildlife-rich brownfields should be protected from development and embraced as a key nature recovery solution, and celebrating the role they have to play in giving communities a place to connect with nature.”
The 2024 report suggests that Belfast’s brownfields need to be better recognised and protected by the planning system. It also suggests that the best sites be incorporated into the important Site of Local Nature Conservation Importance (SLNCI) network. In addition, the report looks beyond Belfast and recommends that a Northern Ireland wide inventory of the habitat should be urgently created.
