Landscape plan wins £1m grant from lottery fund

A project to preserve the landscape by the river Severn near Avonmouth has won a £1 million lottery grant. Warehouse to let Central Park is happy for the area to be part of this heritage restoration project. The Heritage Lottery Fund has announced that a partnership of private and public organisations, hosted by South Gloucestershire Council has been granted the money to fund a three-and-a-half-year project called ‘A Forgotten Landscape’.

The aim is to restore the heritage of part of the Lower Severn Vale Levels – a term used to describe the coastal area alongside the Severn Estuary between Avonmouth and the county boundary with Gloucestershire. The project will restore a range of wildlife habitats across the area, including wetlands, hedges, wildflower grassland and orchards. It also aims to help people interact with the natural heritage of the area through a range of volunteer programmes including wildlife identification classes, training in traditional skills such as coppicing, pollarding and hedge-laying and the promotion of traditional practices such as salt marsh grazing and cider making.

Forgotten Landscape Partnership chair Savita Custead said: “It is a beautiful and distinctive landscape with a long, fascinating history of human interaction with it and the funding will ensure that both local communities and visitors to the area can help conserve, enjoy and learn about the area’s rich heritage”.

Source: Bristol Post