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Search the Public Notice PortalWildlife campaigners have intervened in a row over plans to build an artificial sports pitch in the city, fearing it could lead to plastic pollution at protected sites.
Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT) has urged Norwich City Council to reconsider building the 3G facility at Sloughbottom Park as part of a wider £8m revamp.
The all-weather sports pitch is intended to increase access to sports in Mile Cross, but the plan has run into controversy because critics say it will lead to large quantities of microplastics spreading into the surrounding area.
They say plastic material from the playing surface ends up in the wild after getting on the clothes and shoes of people who use it.
According to an analysis, up to 300 million plastic fibres can be lost from a single pitch each year.
Officials at the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs have called 3G surfaces the "main source of intentionally added microplastic pollution in the UK".
Sloughbottom Park is a short distance from Sweet Briar Marshes, a nature reserve owned by NWT and is also close to the River Wensum.
It has prompted Norfolk Wildlife Trust to object to the plans, which are currently open for consultation.
In a statement submitted to the council, a spokesman for the charity said: "We’re excited about the opportunities for enhancing biodiversity and supporting nature within the wider package of improvements at Sloughbottom Park.
"However, we object to the proposed application for a 3G pitch due to the potential spread of the rubber infill into the wider environment.
"The proposed pitch lies near locally, nationally and internationally designated sites, including Sweet Briar Marshes nature reserve, and has the potential to have indirect adverse effects on these sensitive habitats through microplastics entering the wider environment."
The group urged City Hall to complete more assessments about the risks of microplastics entering the wider environment and to undertake measures to reduce the spread of the rubber infill.
At a recent meeting, Emma Hampton, deputy leader at the Labour-run council, said it would explore a variety of measures to contain microplastics, including brush-off zones and containment boards to prevent any infill escaping from the pitch.
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