Nature reserve is just yards from town centre

8:10pm Thursday 21st August 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

A NEW wildlife haven and nature reserve has been opened near Stourport-on-Severn.

The reserve, at Moorhall Marsh, spans 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres) and is just 200m (656 yards) away from the town centre.

It is hoped the reserve will prove as popular as Stourport Riverside Meadows next door, which already attracts thousands of visitors each year.

Wyre Forest District Council, which owns the site, believes designating it as a Local Nature Reserve will help safeguard the wetland environment.

The council also hopes to be able to retain and enhance the woodland and scrub habitat, and preserve the reserve’s reptile population.

Grazing cattle have been introduced and it is hoped the reserve will offer the community a valuable insight into wildlife and the chance to be involved in the management and upkeep of the site.

The reserve was funded by a grant of almost £7,000 which Stourport Town Council obtained from the lottery-funded BBC Breathing Places Scheme that encourages the development of green spaces.

It was officially opened by Councillor Stephen Williams, chairman of the district council and Stourport’s Mayor Councillor Jim Parish.

Coun Marcus Hart, district council cabinet member for leisure services, said a new boardwalk path would allow people to visit a wildlife discovery area.

“This will be great for people with little or no knowledge of the natural world to discover the importance of wetland wildlife,” he said.

Paul Allen, the council’s conservation officer, said the land was a remnant of the once extensive, but now scarce, river Severn floodplain marshland.

“The site is of significant biological value, being a habitat type identified in both the local and UK Biodiversity Action Plan.”