People in Southport are getting an early Christmas present this week, thanks to the Forestry Commission's latest green makeover project at Town Lane.
Over 12,000 trees and shrubs are being delivered and planted at the former landfill site, to help breathe life into the town's new community woodland, off Bentham's Way, in time for Christmas.
A wide variety of trees, shrubs and hedges will be introduced to the newly landscaped area, including silver birch, wild cherry, yew, hawthorn and dog rose.
Over the next few months, 26 hectares of the disused industrial land at Town Lane will be transformed into a recreational green space for the public. It is hoped that a new mountain bike skills course, bridges and wildlife habitats will be added to the site early in the new year.
Richard Topley, Contract Manager for the Forestry Commission at Town Lane, says:
The Forestry Commission have also just completed a four-month mission to shift 42,000 tonnes of sand from Rainford’s former sand extraction site north of Southport to the Town Lane site. The sand was mixed with 5,730 tonnes of peat to create soil-forming material for the tree and wildflower meadow planting.
The make-up of the site includes two former landfill sites, unmanaged grasslands and large sections of land that has suffered from years of neglect, so needed intensive reconditioning over the last few months to bring it back to life and establish the new community woodland.
£1.78million of funding is being provided for the Town Lane community woodland via the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and the Forestry Commission partnership programme, ‘Newlands’, to regenerate the area’s disused landfill sites.
Local residents and schools from the site's large neighbouring communities will get the chance to see many of their ideas incorporated into the plans for Town Lane, with an emphasis on improving recreational facilities.
Newlands is a unique £59 million NWDA-funded regeneration scheme, which is rejuvenating around 381 hectares of the Northwest’s derelict, underused and neglected land to stimulate economic growth and further opportunities for leisure and environmental improvements.
Newlands, which stands for New Economic Environments via Woodlands, is a partnership scheme involving the NWDA and the Forestry Commission.
The NWDA is providing resources to keep Town Lane maintained for the next 20 years and the Forestry Commission will manage the woodland it creates through the project for a further 79 years, making a secure period of nearly 100 years of management for the area’s green space.
A number of local delivery partners, including Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, Mersey Basin Campaign, Environment Agency, The Mersey Forest, BTCV and Groundwork Merseyside are also involved in the project.
Approximately £225,000 of additional funding has been secured from European Union Objective One Programme via The Mersey Forest Trust.
Town Lane is one of six Newlands projects being developed in the Mersey Belt area of Northwest England.
More information about Town Lane and other ‘Newlands’ projects is available at www.newlandsproject.co.uk or www.forestry.gov.uk/newlands
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Notes to editors
1. Images of tree planting at the Forestry Commission's new Town Lane community woodland are attached. Higher resolution versions are available by calling 015394-42436.
2. The capital investment from Newlands (including long-term management funding) for the Town Lane community woodland is £1.78million.
3. Community Woodlands are multi-purpose open spaces that can be easily accessed by the local community, and can include a series of small woodlands, footpaths, cycle and bridleways, football pitches, wetland habitats and a wildflower meadow. Each site is designed in partnership with the local community to help improve and enhance the economic, environmental and social value of the local neighbourhood to work towards a sustainable environment for everyone.
5. Woodland cover across the North West of England currently stands at just 6.5% compared with the national average of 8% and a European average of 33%.
6. Approximately £225,000 has been awarded to the Town Lane project through the Integrated Countryside and Environment Plan, which is an Objective One Project part funded by the European Union. The Mersey Forest is working to deliver ICEP through Community Forestry.
7. The Forestry Commission is the largest provider of countryside recreation in Britain, with responsibility for more than one million hectares (2.4 million acres) of forest, woodlands and open countryside. Its North-West England Forest District covers the Lake District in Cumbria, the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire. The forests are managed for conservation, wildlife, landscape and recreation as well as providing a valuable source of timber.
Media enquiries to:
Call Richard Topley (Contract Manager) on 07771 865021 . Alternatively, contact Tim Oliver (Newlands Project Manager) on 01524 565806 or 07771 806964.