Lib Dems welcome cash help for city's wild spaces (Cambridge Liberal Democrats)

Cambridge Liberal Democrats <camlibdems@gmail.com>

Lib Dems welcome cash help for city's wild spaces

June 22, 2009 1:37 PM

Councillor Sian Reid

Cambridge's nature reserves and wildlife sites are to benefit from a grant of more than £250,000.

The money, from Cambridgeshire Horizons, is designed to enhance and improve the sites, one of which sits close to a new housing development.

Byron's Pool, close to new homes at Trumpington Meadows and Clay Farm, will receive £137,000 to improve access and breeding facilities.

A fish pass will be constructed to provide a passage upstream beyond the weir for migratory and coarse fish; there will be better breeding facilities for amphibians and pond dwellers and artificial nesting boxes for Grey Wagatails and Kingfishers will be constructed.

It is hoped the work will complement the creation of a Trumpington Meadows Country Park.

The grant also allows:

• £67,500 to be spent on Paradise Nature Reserve to manage the woodland, improve the marsh habitats and improve visitor access.

• £15,000 for Hobsons Conduit wildlife site to improve the banks and adjoining habitats.

• £15,000 for Sheep's Green, Coe Fen and other grassland sites to assess grazing for improved flora and fauna.

All the projects are designed to build on the aspirations and objectives of the council's Nature Conservation Strategy.

Executive City Councillor for Change and Growth, Sian Reid said: "We are delighted to receive this money which will help to protect Cambridge's special places and the diverse range of wildlife that lives there.

"These are valuable green spaces and it is vital they are protected as Cambridge continues to grow and develop."

Members of Cambridge City Council's Environment Scrutiny Committee will be asked to agree the spending plans at their meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, June 23).