Local Nature Reserves (LNRs)

In 2003 Bath & North East Somerset Council received funding from English Nature to increase the number of ‘wildspaces’. These sites – also known as Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) are open spaces, valuable for wildlife, biodiversity but also important places for people. This project was part of a national campaign and ran until 2006. Within these three years we were able to increase our number of LNRs to seven, and they are:

• Camerton Batch LNR

  A steeply wooded old coal spoil batch rich in fungus species

• Carrs Woodland LNR

  A mix of limestone grassland pasture and mature broadleaf woodland with large stands of beech, species found on site include bath asparagus, badgers and bat roosts

• Folly Farm LNR

  A rich mix of habitats and species including unimproved neutral grassland, meadows, ancient semi-natural woodland. An important site for many invertebrates, birds and butterflies

• Kensington Meadows LNR

  A beautiful riverside fringe landscape with damp meadows and old pollarded willows

• Manor Road Community Woodland LNR

  With swathes of new woodland, pools, open grassland, hedgerows and drystone walls

• Silver Street LNR

  (right) A mixture of woodland and grassland with a pond and an old springhead.

• Twerton Roundhill LNR

  A great habitat for butterflies with its open limestone grassland

Although we no longer have dedicated Wildspace officers there is still plenty going on. There are active community groups associated with six of the seven sites and a plethora of events taking place.

What makes Local Nature Reserves really special is the important role the surrounding communities have in their management, development and use. Every site is very individual in character – each with its own varied landscape and its own very different community needs and interests.

A key aim has been to increase overall accessibility to these areas where appropriate. This might be simple physical improvements such as better pathways, signage and surfaces for people with limited mobility. But it may also include more innovative and exciting projects which help people to engage with the sites in different ways - such as local history projects and memory recording; video and photography; on-site ephemeral sculptures; species identification events and other activities to get closer to nature.

In 2007 three of the Local Nature Reserves; Silver Street, Carrs Woodland and Kensington Meadows were been chosen as sites to be entered into the Green Flag scheme. This national standard for parks and green spaces and is awarded when a site is well managed and ‘fit for purpose’. We hope that by 2010 all three sites will have been awarded the green flag.

Find out more about individual Local Nature Reserves > >