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SBC > LA21 > Up To Date > News |
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Press Release
Ferndown Local Nature Reserve Official LaunchLink: Local Nature Reserves
On Friday 28th March the Mayor of Stafford will formally launch Ferndown Local Nature Reserve (LNR). The site is a mix of meadow and woodland in Clayton, near Newcastle-under-Lyme. During the ceremony the Mayor will unveil a new entrance sign.
The declaration and management of Local Nature Reserves forms an important part of Stafford Borough Council's Local Agenda 21 programme, which aims to achieve sustainable development and a better quality of life for all, both today and in the future. It also supports the council's main objectives, which are to achieve a community and a Borough that is "prosperous, safe, healthy, clean and green."
One of the main objectives of this project is to encourage the local community to get involved by promoting participation in conservation activities, and to support educational opportunities. A group, The Friends of Ferndown has formed thanks to the enthusiasm of local residents. An initial meeting last November attracted many members of the community and it's local councillors. The Friends have already made a bid to the Lotteries' Breathing Spaces programme, featured in a magazine article about the new reserve and created a bird feeding area.
As part of the LNR declaration process for Ferndown, a five-year habitat management plan has been developed for the site. This document describes how the land should be managed over the next five years to protect and enhance its important wildlife value, and to promote it as a valuable area of community greenspace. Various management tasks are identified in the new site management plan. Some of this work (e.g. improving the meadows and paths through the site and providing new signage) has already commenced.
Ferndown is an area of old agricultural fields, whose boundaries may still be traced in the landscape today. One of the main aims of the reserve is to restore the meadowland, adding many species of wildflower and attracting insects such as butterflies. This will involve taking a late summer hay-cut and planting meadow flowers.
If you would like to find out more about Ferndown LNR please contact Bill Waller on T: 01785 619676 or email: wwaller@staffordbc.gov.uk