WARDLE LAND PROJECT

MoorEnd Trust has obtained an Awards For All grant worth £9856 to pay for a feasibility study to develop a large part of the area between Wardle Road and Birch Road for the benefit of the local community; It also includes funds for a fun day to promote the idea to the public.

Born from an idea by one-time director of the MoorEnd Trust, Michael Fitton of Wardle Historical Society, it is now open to the local community to make its own suggestions for the use of the land. Current ideas include the creation of a Countryside Park which might contain garden benches, nature trails, walk trails, picnic benches, a children's play area with equipment, a mountain-bike circuit and a dedicated footpath from Birch Road across to Wardle Road as part of a route leading to Watergrove Reservoir. These would allow for the provision of educational material to explain wildlife and nature involving local schools and special outreach sessions to disadvantaged local communities. The end result would be to turn an underused and almost out-of-sight area into an asset providing an outdoor amenity for the Wardle area.

Anyone with additional or other ideas should contact George Caygill, also of the Wardle Historical Society, on 01706 379305.

Eysis were taken on as the consultants at the MoorEnd meeting last night (Monday, 25th February) and they will be involving the local community in their work. Eysis were established in 2002 in order to carry out consultancy and training support and have been used by the Local Authority to advise on aspects of its own policy.

Once the study is complete, the fun day will follow in the early summer to share the results and consult with the wider community regarding what should be the next steps