Call for community to lead wetland revamp (From The Northern Echo)

Call for community to lead wetland revamp

5:16pm Sunday 21st March 2010 in

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AN APPEAL has been launched to help convert an area of empty wetland into a nature reserve.

Councillor Ian Haszeldine, the member for Lingfield ward, is hoping to lead a community drive to get the land at the bottom of Arnold Road revamped.

Coun Haszeldine said Darlington Borough Council cannot afford to carry out the work, but grants are available from the Government and regeneration groups, if members of the local community are interested.

He said: It is now apparent that the cost of improving this area cannot be met solely through council resources and it is unlikely that we can afford to undertake this work without some external funding support.

We would like to find a group of local residents who would be prepared to meet to discuss this with a view to putting a bid into a suitable funding body to produce an improvement scheme for the wetland.

The flora and resident fauna make this a potential area for conservation. We feel it meets quite a few targets relating to biodiversity and protected species, recreation and community use.

We should be able to fence the area and provide the paths and the suitable furniture that the feature requires to make it useable as a community recourse as well as conservation area.

Grants are often only available if the project is led by members of the community, and it costs nothing to apply.

For more information call Coun Haszeldine on 01325-362317.