The Forestry Commission say...
2 NOVEMBER 2009 NEWS RELEASE No: 13027
New £3.8 million community woodland underway in Bury
Work has started in the North West of England to transform Waterdale and Drinkwater Parks in Bury, as part of one of the country’s biggest green regeneration programmes.
A team of specialists from the Forestry Commission is working on former industrial land between Prestwich and Clifton, to construct a green makeover that will improve the local environment for nearby communities, where recreational facilities have been virtually non-existent.
This newly created community woodland will include 12 kilometres of multi-purpose leisure trails, wetland wildlife habitats and fishing ponds. The whole site, which lies between Agecroft Road and the M60 to the west of Bury Road, is equivalent to more than 78 football pitches.
Work on the major multi-purpose waymarked trails for walkers, cyclists and horse riders is due to start next month and continue until March.
There are also plans to build a new mountain bike track, to illuminate the viaduct's 13 arches that run through the site and to introduce information signage on the area's history.
Over £3.8 million worth of funding is being injected in to the 71-hectare Bury woodland over the next 20 years via the Forestry Commission and Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) partnership programme, Newlands.
The new woodland is part of a larger project to create a major community woodland across Salford, Manchester and Bury.
This project, the Lower Irwell Valley Improvement Area (LIVIA), has already created 97 hectares of community woodland in the Agecroft area of Salford, and has received funding to the tune of £4.75 million via the Newlands Programme.
Richard Topley from the Forestry Commission, who is a Project Manager for Newlands at the LIVIA Bury site, says:
“It’s a real pleasure watching the site changing on an almost daily basis. When we’ve finished I think local people are going to be really pleased with the results. There will be plenty of opportunities for everyone to enjoy the outdoors, whether it’s cycling, running, fishing or horse-riding.
”The project also includes a 20-year management plan so people can be confident that this new woodland will be kept in good condition.”
The Forestry Commission will erect new barriers and gates around the perimeter to prevent access from joy riders.
LIVIA is one of seven Newlands projects currently being developed in England's Northwest.
Already, as part of LIVIA and Newlands, multi-purpose waymarked trails for walkers and cyclists, an outdoor amphitheatre and play areas have been created near the Clifton Green Estate in north Salford.
Newlands is a £59million NWDA-funded land regeneration scheme, which is rejuvenating around 900 hectares of the region's brownfield land to encourage economic growth, while creating new opportunities for leisure and recreation.
Newlands, which stands for New Economic Environments via Woodlands, is a partnership scheme involving the NWDA and the Forestry Commission.
A number of local partners, including Groundwork Manchester, Salford and Trafford and Bury Council are also involved in the project.
As a gateway into Greater Manchester, LIVIA will significantly enhance the land alongside the M60, which dissects the site, making the area more attractive to visitors and investors, as well as increasing local land and property values.
Further information about LIVIA and other 'Newlands' projects is available at http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newlands and http://www.newlandsproject.co.uk
NOTES TO THE EDITORS
1. Images of work on the Bury Community Woodland are available by calling 01524-782086.
2. The capital investment from the Newlands programme (including long-term management funding) for the Lower Irwell Valley Improvement Area (LIVIA) is £4.75million.
3. A brownfield site is any land or premises that has previously been used and is not currently fully in use, although it may be partially occupied or utilised. It may also be vacant, derelict or contaminated. A brownfield site is not necessarily available for immediate use without intervention.
4.. 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.. 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 Northwest 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.
