Hopes East West Rail will accept land's new status

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.

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".

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."

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."