The Hallside Steelworks Project

D R J Craven

The basic project is to plant a 32 ha contaminated steelworks site situated in a very visible position on the eastern edge of Glasgow with a mixture of native hardwoods and short rotation energy coppice – mostly willow species. The site has lain abandoned for more than 14 years because neither the finance nor the techniques for rehabilitation were available. The Strathclyde Greenbelt Company has put together the basis of a financial package and brought together a range of techniques to achieve rehabilitation. Contamination on the site and the structure of the remaining materials mean that successful orthodox silviculture is very doubtful. The site will therefore first be covered with a landscaped layer of colliery spoil to a minimum depth of one metre. This material is not phytotoxic – over 120 different species of plant grow in this material already and pot trials carried out by the Forest Authority indicate that willow and other short rotation species will also grow successfully in it.
In order to increase organic matter in the growing medium and to supply slow release plant nutrients, the surface layer of the colliery spoil will be mixed with 300 tonnes per ha of digested sewage sludge cake and limed as required. At the same time, in order to encourage and accelerate the formation of an organic top soil layer with suitable structure, the area will be inoculated with earthworms and soil invertebrates.
Current analysis indicates that there is little potentially damaging run-off from the site but the introduction of both colliery spoil and heavy dressings of sewage sludge may alter this. If analysis shows that this is taking place the run-off will be pumped back on site to be filtered again.

3 (1) 1995

Updated: 09-Jun-2005