THE Swale and Ure washlands project, in North Yorkshire, has been given a huge vote of confidence by a team of countryside professionals.

The praise came after a week-long intensive study of the area by a multi-national countryside exchange programme.

The group, from the US, Canada, Scotland, Wales and England, was impressed by what the project had achieved in just 18 months.

The washlands project was set up to develop a strategic view on the after-use of mineral extraction sites in the middle and lower sections of the Swale and Ure river valleys.

Team members identified the area as a unique heritage site and recommended that the project created even closer links with organisations, schools and the community.

Project officer, Siobhan Walker, said: "What comes out of the report is that local people feel a special 'sense of place' about the washlands area, loving its wildlife, culture and history."