My name is Sue Jordan, Senior Environmental Manager in DIO Safety, Environment and Engineering. My colleagues and I work on a range of initiatives that protect and enhance the MOD estate worldwide. My blog explains the range of partnership working that has gone into the planning of the Army Basing Programme which I am proud to say won both the Sustainability Project Award and the Sustainable Business Award at this year's MOD Sanctuary Awards event.
![Mark Duddy and Maj Gen Richard Wardlaw receiving ABP Sanctuary Award from Julie Taylor and Graham Dalton [Crown Copyright, MOD 2017]](https://insideDIO.blog.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2017/11/DDCL1830.jpg)
Salisbury Plain has been in use as a military training area for over 100 years and as a result, much of the land is protected as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and/or Special Protection Areas (SPA). It is home to many rare species of plant and animal, as well as historically significant archaeological sites, from the Neolithic to WWI. We would have to overcome the challenges of developing in such an environmentally sensitive area before planning approvals could be given.
Specifically, we had to overcome the following:
- Loss of chalk grassland, important to rare species of animals and plants
- Impacts on the World Heritage Site and archaeological landscape;
- The risk of unexploded ordnance and historic contamination;
- Increasing recreational pressure on stone curlew and other ground-nesting birds; and
- Increased water abstraction and waste water discharges into the River Avon.
DIO developed the Salisbury Plain Masterplan to help guide where development should take place; as part of this, we worked closely with Natural England, Environment Agency, Historic England, Wiltshire Council and our industry partners to develop workable solutions to the environmental challenges of ABP developments.
![Members of the Army Basing Programme team [Crown Copyright, MOD 2017]](https://insideDIO.blog.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2017/11/Section-106-signing_Group-1-of-1.jpg)
Extensive archaeological surveys and excavation of development areas were undertaken by WYG and Wessex Archaeology, working with Wiltshire Council and Heritage England. Discoveries included Neolithic Henges, WWI practice trenches and an extensive Saxon cemetery where one of the burials was carbon dated to AD660-780. Pre-planning these evaluations has avoided delaying the build programme.
In an area with such a long military history, work on Salisbury Plain often uncovers unexploded ordnance and contaminated land. ABP is no exception, and an extensive programme of clearance has been undertaken to make the sites safe for their future use. Contaminated material has been safely dealt with and where possible safely re-used as foundation material in new technical buildings. At Ludgershall, less than 5% of the 2,500 tonnes of building waste went to landfill.
To reduce people’s need to visit the protected training area (particularly for dog walking), we are creating a network of local recreational routes around the housing developments.
![Dr Sue Jordan at Bulford [Crown Copyright, MOD 2017]](https://insideDIO.blog.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2017/11/Sue-at-Bulford-TVA-Nov-17.jpg)
To find out more about each of these projects in detail, have a look at the latest edition of Sanctuary Magazine.
2 comments
Comment by Chris Chalk posted on
Please could you tell me if there are any protocols or permissions that I need in order to scatter ashes on Salisbury Plain.
Comment by rebeccarobinson posted on
Hi, there is no specific MOD policy on this and the UK laws are fairly relaxed. The advice from our training colleagues is that you are welcome to scatter ashes but no memorials are allowed and you may not be able to access the area where the ashes have been scattered in future if there is training taking place or if there are other potential safety issues. I hope this helps.