Cash may boost Mere – or others
MARTIN Mere could become the most “iconic nature reserve in the North of England” if it is awarded £200,000 of funding from West Lancashire Borough Council.
Plans to improve the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust site are listed on a shortlist of options for the council to spend its Community Investment Levy (CIL) – a tool for local councils to help deliver infrastructure to support the development of the area.
Levies are received by local authorities from developers when new housing and retail space is created within a borough.
Other options on the shortlist include building new football changing facilities at Chequer Lane, Upholland; improving safety at the Cheshire Lines Path; improving access, landscaping and recreation facilities at Tawd Valley, Skelmersdale; and carrying out improvements at Hunters Hill, Pabold.
The proposal for Martin Mere would see the creation of a filtration reed bed, involving removing topsoil from 74 acres of land, to attract more wildlife to the area.
According to the report listing the proposed ideas, the works would attract new species of birds and increase tourism to the area by making it “perhaps the most iconic nature reserve in the North of England.”
The report states: “Martin Mere is already worth more than £5m to the local economy every year and this reed bed will increase that worth.”
Along with the potential £200,000 investment from the CIL fund, there would also be a further £700,000 from external sources to create a near-£1m boost to the centre.
Another nature reserve is also an option, with plans to invest £250,000 on extending and refurbishing Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s visitor centre at Mere Sands Wood in Rufford.
Phase Two of that plan would include the creation of a café and activity room and pre-fabricated modular buildings.
This plan would also rely on additional grants, with the trust only requesting that £25,000 is provided by the CIL.
The report says that attracting more visitors to the facility would enable improvements to benefit the ecosystem, thus offsetting damage caused by multiple housing developments in the surrounding areas.
The Tawd Valley option is considered high priority in the report, with the area described as “a vital piece in the jigsaw of the town’s overall development”.
The report states: “Failure to regenerate the Tawd as an access route through to the town will lead to residents in new housing ‘turning’ to other areas outside Skem for their services/leisure, and will further dislocate the town.”
Skelmersdale is set for multiple new housing developments in the coming years and improving services and amenities in the town will be necessary. The total cost for the Tawd Valley improvement is listed as £300,000, with all the funding coming from the CIL.
The final three options all fall in Ormskirk: rebuilding the changing facilities at Whittle Lane playing fields, creating a new allotment at an as yet unconfirmed location, and upgrading the play area at the Thompson Avenue public open space.
The final decision will be based on a number of factors, including the amount of recent or planned housing developments in each area, to determine which is the most beneficial to residents.