£85,000 grant for Heswall Dales nature reserve

Dec 31 2008 By Lorna Hughes

A CAMPAIGN to save the much-loved Heswall Dales nature reserve has been boosted with the announcement of an £85,000 grant.

Wirral South MP Ben Chapman – who has backed a campaign by local people – has welcomed news of the significant investment in the future of the Dales.

Wirral Council is to receive the money from Natural England, to maintain the site, after committing to a programme of ongoing maintenance of the site – and work is likely to start as early as next month.

This comes after a review of the Countryside Stewardship Agreement between the two organisations.

Mr Chapman said: “Since the issue of Heswall Dales was first brought to my attention by the Heswall Society, I have taken a keen interest in it and have walked over it on a number of occasions.

“I welcomed then Environment Minister Joan Ruddock to the site earlier this year, and have raised the issue in Parliament, as well as with government departments.

“I look forward to meeting the area manager for Natural England, Paul Green, on site in January and hearing how the project will be taken forward.”

The Dales has been a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1979 and in 1991, it was given the status of Local Nature Reserve.

It is to the west of Heswall and comprises an area of 72 acres of lowland heath which, until recently, was largely covered in wild heather.

But this is not the case today, and in many areas the heather is now being overcome by other plants.

This recent encroachment into the heath land, by gorse and scrub, has led to concerns from local residents and community groups about the management of the site.

During the warm summer months, the heath supports an array of insects including grasshoppers, beetles, butterflies and moths, which in turn are a rich food source for birds and mammals.

Shrews can occasionally be heard bickering noisily in the dense undergrowth. Gorse provides excellent cover for wrens, yellowhammers and chaffinches.

Natural England was formed by bringing together English Nature, the landscape, access and recreation elements of the Countryside Agency and the environmental land management functions of the Rural Development Service.

Area manager Paul Green said: “We are now in the happy position of havingŠ secured significant resourcesŠ to provide to Wirral Council to make a major investment in improving the management of the site.”