A new nature reserve for Radcliffe?

Plans are being drawn up to turn land which belonged to the former Radcliffe Paper Mill into the borough’s newest Local Nature Reserve.

The site is next to where Barratt Homes built the Woodland Chase estate, and gave Bury Council a sum of money for wildlife improvements as part of the development.

Local people are now being asked whether they would like the site to become a nature reserve, at a public meeting on Thursday 22 November at Stand United Reformed Church, starting at 7.30pm. There will be a short presentation, after which people can have their say and possibly form a community group to support the project.

Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) are areas of green space close to communities that are important habitats for wildlife and valuable recreation areas. There are five local nature reserves in Bury:PhilipsPark, Chesham, Hollins Vale, Redisher Wood andKirkleesValley. All have community groups that are actively involved in the management of each site and are well used by schools and other local groups. 

Since the completion of the Woodland Chase housing development, there are very few features that point to the industrial past and that of the paper mill. There are two remaining water bodies: the larger is a triangular shaped reservoir which has been recorded as a Grade B Site of Biological Importance (SBI) for the aquatic plants that can be found within it. The site also has some areas of mature woodland and amenity recreational grassland.

For more information, contact Paul Robinson on 0161 253 7668 or email p.v.robinson@bury.gov.uk

ENDS

Press release issued: 1 November 2012.

Picture attached: Chapelfield Lodge.