PLANS to create a £1 million visitor centre will help safeguard an important wildlife habitat near Worcester

Wildgoose Rural Training wants to create the centre at its site at Top Barn Farm in the village of Holt.

Members and officers from Malvern Hills District Council visited the site to find out more about the proposals.

During the visit they found out more the National Lottery-supported plans to create the centre and facility on 42 acres of a former gravel quarry - an area of ecological importance due to its diverse wildlife.

Lottery funding of £94,400 will help Wildgoose develop its plans before applying for a full grant.

The reserve will become a centre for learning and support, particularly for adults with additional needs and children excluded, or at risk of exclusion, from school.

There will be free public access to the wetland with interactive activities to educate and engage visitors. Themes will include the habitat, local agricultural and industrial history, and traditional skills, while celebrating the students who will learn and work there.

There are plans to establish a heritage orchard, create an interactive wildlife experience and take visitors on a journey through the natural history of the county.

Mark Davies, chair of Wildgoose’s board of trustees said: “Our visitors were hugely impressed by our exciting plans for the future and it was a great opportunity for us to show them this very special place deserves the best possible future for the people whose lives it has already changed, and the people whose lives it will change in the future.”