Stop Tilbury 3 - No More Port Expansion in Tilbury

Former power station sites might not come to mind as being vital havens for wildlife, but in Tilbury, the expansive fields of coal burning waste, known as Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA), together with surrounding ditches and coastal habitats, is just that. It is home to nearly, 1,200 species of invertebrate, including an incredible 185 of conservation concern – over 15%!  

This includes the elusive Critically Endangered Stripe-eyed Paragus (Paragus albifrons) which is known form only a handful of modern sites, the Vulnerable Great Sneak-spider (Harpactea rubicunda), Endangered Wall Butterfly (Lasiommata megera) and the Shrill Carder Bee (Bombus sylvarum)- one of our most threatened bumblebees. Collectively it supports a nationally important community of wildlife, that has seen it designated as part of the West Tilbury Marshes Complex Local Wildlife Site and included in the Thames Estuary North Important Invertebrate Area. 

However, its future is in the balance from proposals to expand the Port of Tilbury, as part of a new project called Tilbury 3. Eight years ago, in 2017, Buglife fought to stop the previous port expansion, Tilbury 2, in a campaign supported by 75,000 supporters. Sadly, its unique habitats have been completely lost. We can’t let it happen again. 

In the last few decades, we have seen some of the UK’s most important wildlife-rich brownfield habitats disappear off the map. The PFA ashfields in Tilbury are one of the last remaining extensive brownfield habitats that haven’t either been destroyed or are part of the small handful of sites that are secure for future generations. Hundreds of hectares of habitat have been lost, reducing space for wildlife to a fraction of its former size. 

Buglife is calling on Thurrock Council to show a commitment to nature recovery by refusing permission for Tilbury 3. Thurrock has seen numerous Local Wildlife Sites lost to development and is soon to see its habitats fragmented even further by the Lower Thames Crossing – Tilbury 3 could be what pushes some of Thurrock’s special species over the edge. 

Meanwhile, Buglife is calling on Natural England to take urgent action to deliver on its public commitment to designate the best remaining habitats in the Thames Estuary for invertebrates as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), by notifying these irreplaceable ashfields. It failed to act in 2017 and time is running out for it to avoid another devastating blow for nature in the Thames Estuary.