Farmland in Cambridgeshire, currently under threat from East West Rail’s proposed railway line, has been granted County Wildlife Site status.

This farmland, known as Westfield, forms part of the 400-acre Lark Rise Farm, located near the villages of Barton and Comberton. It is owned by the Countryside Regeneration Trust (CRT), a national charity committed to nature-friendly farming practices.

The site’s new status follows a rigorous review by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Sites Panel with input from the Wildlife Trust, the county and district councils and other environmental organisations. The recognition highlights the area’s ecological importance within the county.

Dr Lucy Wilson, conservation officer for the Wildlife Trust (cambs), said: “Westfield Farm has been selected as a County Wildlife Site by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Sites Panel for its assemblage of arable plants, one of our most threatened groups of plants due to modern, efficient farming practices.

“The CRT manage the site of four fields under a regime of low-input, rotational cultivation which has allowed the arable plants to flourish alongside the crops.”

A total of 14 arable plant species of local or national significance have been recorded on the site including Night-flowering CatchflySilene noctiflora , Shepherd’s-needleScandix pecten-veneris and Spreading Hedge-parsleyTorilis arvensis , which are all threatened with extinction both locally and nationally.

“This arable plant assemblage underpins an ecosystem which includes threatened farmland birds which breed on the site such as Grey PartridgePerdix perdixand Corn BuntingEmberiza calandra . County Wildlife Sites are some of our remaining refuges for vulnerable wildlife and need protecting so that they can act as centres of dispersal as our countryside recovers,” added Dr Wilson.

Dr. Vince Lea, Conservation Officer for CRT, expressed hope that the new status would prompt East West Rail to reconsider its proposed route, which threatens this vital land.

He stated: “This recognition is a testament to the value of the land and the work we’ve been doing for over 25 years to nurture it for wildlife. I hope this will encourage East West Rail to reassess their plans. Their surveys have overlooked the ecological value of these arable fields, a clear flaw in their approach.”

Dr. Lea also revealed that the next step is to nominate the site for consideration as a nationally significant site, following recommendations from conservationists. With a score of 55 from records dating back to 2006, the site qualifies as being of national importance.

County Wildlife Sites are the most significant areas of semi-natural habitat outside statutory protected sites, such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs).

Tim Scott, who farms Lark Rise, said the recognition was very rewarding and as the result of 25-years of hard work and dedication at Westfield.

He 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. With our Red-List revival, we are in the top one per cent in the country. This cannot be replicated.”