Needingworth quarry community page

Hello future

On 02 October 2023 we rebranded to Heidelberg Materials. As well as aligning with our parent company, our new name better reflects the company we are today.

We’re focused on driving down carbon emissions, increasing the use of recycled materials to grow the circular economy and leading our industry towards net zero with innovative projects such as carbon capture and storage.

Some of the new Heidelberg Materials signage and vehicle livery is already in place and we hope to have completed this within the next two years. Please note that our email and website details have also changed.

Find out more

About the quarry

Needingworth Quarry in Cambridgeshire is one of the largest sand and gravel extraction sites in the UK. It covers an area of approximately 975 hectares and lies three miles east of St Ives, adjacent to the Great Ouse river.

Extraction began in 1995 and will span more than 30 years, during which time 28 million tonnes of sand and gravel will be removed. The restoration will be phased to create Britain’s biggest reedbed (460 hectares), along with open meres, wet scrub and grassland, within a 700 hectare nature reserve. The quarry employs 9 people directly and supports a number of others including contractors and drivers.

Wetland creation at Needingworth quarry, Cambridgeshire

Over the coming years Hanson will progressively donate further small parcels of land as sand and gravel extraction is completed. The RSPB will manage and develop this land for nature conservation. When the final area is handed over, the Ouse Fen Nature Reserve will be complete. The dream will have become reality.

Read about the wetland creation project at Needingworth

Hanson-RSPB Wetland Project

The Hanson-RSPB Wetland Project is an ambitious partnership project that will deliver the RSPB Ouse Fen nature reserve in Cambridgeshire.

A further 96 hectares of restored land at Needingworth in Cambridgeshire has been handed over to the RSPB as part of a 30-year partnership project to create a wildlife nature reserve from a working sand and gravel quarry.

Read about archeological activities and finds at Needingworth quarry

Charitable funding

Below is a list of charitable funding by Needingworth quarry during the year:

Huntingdonshire Philharmonic - £250 donation
St John the Baptist Church, Baston - £250 donation
Needingworth Village Hall - £200 donation to Music Festival
Holywell-cum-Needingworth Gardening Club - £100 donation
Over Carnival - £200 donation

Stay Safe... Stay Out of Quarries

Visit the Stay Safe facebook page

Project to connect with wild greenspace at Needingworth quarry

A project to connect communities with local wildlife at our Needingworth sand and gravel quarry has been selected as one of just six schemes in the UK to participate in the fifth round of our biodiversity competition, the Quarry Life Award.

Wetland project is tour highlight

Needingworth quary's wetland restoration partnership with the RSPB was centre stage during a ligh-level visit to the Cambridgeshire site.

Special investment at Needingworth Quarry to safeguard water voles

Water voles have become the latest protected species needing special investment to safeguard at Needingworth quarry.

The RSPB celebrates National Volunteer's' Week

As it is National Volunteers’ Week, here is a special interview with Ouse Fen and Fen Drayton Lakes volunteer Rick Harrison.

Read the interview

Watch a video that includes interviews with some of the Ouse Fen volunteers.

Watch the video

A behind the scenes look at BBC Countryfile’s visit to RSPB Wetland Project

A behind the scenes blog post and photos about the day that Countryfile visited Ouse Fen.

Rescue responses are put to the test

Cambridgeshire Search and Rescue carried out a series of training exercises at Needingworth quarry.

Cambridgeshire Search and Rescue Training Day at Needingworth Quarry

On Sunday 1st of October 2017 members of the Cambridgeshire Search and Rescue volunteer group were welcomed to Needingworth quarry by Hanson to carry out a number of training exercises on the site.

Chinese delegation visit to RSPB Wetland Project

A senior delegation from Shanghai, China, recently visited the Hanson-RSPB Wetland Project at Ouse Fen to see the reedbed and wetland habitat creation as part of their visit to the UK. The visit included Directors from the Shanghai Chongming Dongtan National Nature Reserve, itself a large wetland reserve, and they were keen to see flagship projects which are examples of the RSPB working with the construction industry to create new nature reserves.