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Hopes East West Rail will accept land's new status

Harriet Heywood
BBC News, Cambridgeshire
Countryside Regeneration Trust Four people in a field carrying out a survey of flora. The grass is knee-high and there are wildflowers dotted about within it. The four people - two men and two women - carry clipboards to record the results.Countryside Regeneration Trust
An arable flora survey is carried out on fields that could be affected by the East West Rail line

Conservation officers hope the recognition an area of farmland is vital to a county's wildlife could make East West Rail (EWR) reassess its plans.

Westfield, in Cambridgeshire, has been made a County Wildlife Site (CWS), a designation which does not give statutory protection, but acknowledges its importance.

The land - given CWS status by a panel including the Wildlife Trust and local councils - is part of the 400-acre Lark Rise Farm, near the villages of Barton and Comberton. It has 14 recorded species of wildflowers.

EWR, which aims to connect Cambridge and Oxford via Bedford, Milton Keynes and Bicester, said it was doing everything it could to minimise the environmental impact of the railway.

Countryside Regeneration Trust Lapwing chicks hatching successfully from three eggs, which are on the ground. The chicks' legs and brown feathers can be made out between blades of grass. Countryside Regeneration Trust
The farm, managed by a Cambridgeshire-based national charity promoting nature-friendly farming, celebrated a record number of breeding pairs of lapwings in 2024

Dr Lucy Wilson, a Wildlife Trust conservation officer, said Westfield was made a CWS because of its arable plants - wildflowers that grow on land usually used for crops.

She said they were "one of our most threatened groups of plants due to modern, efficient farming practices".

Countryside Regeneration Trust Close up of Dr Vince Lea wearing a black beanie hat, black gloves and a jacket. He is outside and has one hand against his forehead shielding his eyes from the sun as he looks to away from the camera. Countryside Regeneration Trust
Conservation officer Dr Vince Lea said the recognition was a "testament to the value of the land"

Westfield is owned by the Countryside Regeneration Trust (CRT).

CRT conservation officer Dr Vince Lea said he hoped EWR would take note of the new status.

Dr Lea said: "Their surveys have overlooked the ecological value of these arable fields, a clear flaw in their approach."

Countryside Regeneration Trust Farmer Tim Scott. He is bald with short grey hair at the sides. He is sun-tanned and is wearing a green sleeveless warmer and a blue top. The background, which shows farm machinery, is out of focus.Countryside Regeneration Trust
Farmer Tim Scott says the land is "irreplaceable"

Tim Scott, who farms Lark Rise, said: "I hope that EWR will recognise arable biodiversity as endangered and accept this is a site of county significance and more and it is irreplaceable."

An EWR spokesperson said: "Protecting the environment is a fundamental part of our decision-making and we're doing everything we can to avoid, reduce and mitigate negative environmental impacts to deliver a sustainable railway.

"We have been in contact with the farm's owners and will continue to update them as our design progresses.

"We are committed to delivering 10 per cent biodiversity net gain for the project to improve and increase the level of biodiversity rather than simply replacing what is lost."

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