CHESHIRE Wildlife Trust's largest nature reserve has opened.
The Gowy Meadows site, at Thornton-le-Moors, south of Shell Stanlow off the A5117, is now ready for visitors following an extensive £1m restoration programme.
Over the past three years, the coastal plain grazing marsh has been transformed from a declining area of marshland into a reserve teeming with wildlife.
Covering 165.8 hectares, the area is a valuable habitat for many species, including lapwings, water voles, barn owls, dragonflies and the water violet.
This type of marsh is facing serious threat of decline in the UK and extensive grazing at the site meant that the land had become dry and unattractive to many species.
The area had historically also provided a natural floodplain for the River Gowy, but decline of the area meant the area was at risk of flooding.
Since 2001, Cheshire Wildlife Trust has managed the reserve under a 25-year lease from the owners Shell UK. With help from a dedicated team of volunteers, the trust has erected 24,000 metres of fencing, cleared more than 6,200 metres of ditch and reinstated 6,400 metres of hedge.
The improvements have dual benefits for wildlife and industry. As well as improving the biodiversity of the area, flood defences have been incorporated into the site to enable to absorb excess rainfall.
These measures should help protect local businesses such as the Stanlow oil refinery.
