Five new Local Nature Reserves in Blaenau Gwent

People in Blaenau Gwent now have easy access to a nature reserve, following Blaenau Gwent Council's designation of five new Local Nature Reserves.

Local Nature Reserves (LNR) are areas which don’t necessarily have the rarest species, but they are green spaces which are easily accessible for local people to go for a walk or enjoy nature. They also help protect nature close to housing and provide an outdoor learning experience for children and adults.

Working with the Countryside Council for Wales, Blaenau Gwent Council has designated five areas, covering nearly 300 hectares – the equivalent of 276 football pitches - as Local Nature Reserves. These are:

• Beaufort Hills Pond and Woodland
• Cwmtillery Lakes
• Parc Bryn Bach
• Parc Nant y Waun
• Sirhowy Hill Woodlands and Cardiff Pond

Coun Don Wilcox, Blaenau Gwent Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, said:

“We are very proud to have these five green spaces of such outstanding natural beauty on our doorstep – now accessible to everyone so they can be enjoyed by the young an old alike.

“Until recently, our only designated Local Nature Reserve was at Silent Valley near Cwm. We are confident that these new nature reserves will provide a boost to the area by providing locals and visitors with improved health and quality of life opportunities.

“We are grateful to the volunteers who help out at these reserves and we work closely with Blaenau Gwent’s Biodiversity partnership and local community groups including Tredegar Development Trust, Pathways, Friends of Parc Nant Y Waun, Cwmtillery Lakes Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) Beaufort Hills Pond and Woodland Preservation Society. Thank you to them all.”

John Lloyd Jones, Chairman of the Countryside Council for Wales said:

“The designation of these five areas as Local Nature Reserve reflects the excellent work being done by Blaenau Gwent Council to manage the county’s outstanding natural features so that we can all enjoy them. Many of the sites have proudly retained their history and so visitors can see the old and new side by side.”

Blaenau Gwent Council will manage the newly designated reserve in partnership with the Countryside Council for Wales. Each Reserve has a management plan, so that the sites can be developed for both wildlife and people’s enjoyment.

Why not go and visit a Local Nature Reserve during Wales Biodiversity Week which takes place between 6-14 June or go along to one of the celebratory events organised at Cwmtillery lakes on Sunday, 28 June and Parc Nant y Waun on Wednesday, 8 July.

Details of Wales’ 79 Local Nature Reserves are available on CCW’s web site on www.ccw.gov.uk. If you would like more information or would like to get involved with the management of the Local Nature Reserves please contact Claire Pooley, Ecologist or Caroline Matthews, Environmental Project Officer, on 01495 355850.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Meinir Wigley, CCW Senior PR Officer on 07720 428644

Communications and Marketing Team, Blaenau Gwent Council, 01495 356004 or media@blaenau-gwent.gov.uk

Notes for Editors:

Beaufort Hills Pond and Woodland

This Reserve lies on the gently sloping land lying at the edge of the Clydach Valley, between the Brecon Beacon National Park to the north and Brynmawr and Beaufort to the south. In the past the site has been subject to heavy industrial activity – quarrying and mining for ironstone and coal took place extensively across the site. The large reservoirs were built to provide water for these activities. When these quarrying and mining ceased, the land was reclaimed which involved extensive remodelling and landscaping of the site.

The reserve is now of high wildlife value. Surveys have shown that a number of mammals, including bats and otters, both protected are seen here, as well as 12 types of butterfly and 9 types of damselfly including the scarce blue tailed damselfly.

Work to plant trees and maintaining paths, bridges, gates and signs mean that the Reserve is an important resource for the local community. It is mainly used for recreational activities such as walking, bird watching, fishing and sometimes horse riding.

Cwmtillery Lakes

Most of this Reserve, 3km north of Abertillery, was created through a land reclamation scheme on an area of former mine workings. The lake itself was created to provide water for the mining activities.

The site supports a rich mosaic of habitats including grassland, heath, woodland and open water. These habitats in turn support a variety of protected and priority species. The grassland, woodland and hedgerow provide foraging and roosting sites for a number of bat species for example. Also found here is the Silurian moth, which is found at only a few other sites across the UK.

Parc Bryn Bach

Parc Bryn Bach was formerly part of an extensive network of coalmines and colliery works and the LNR site lies on land, which was reclaimed after colliery operations ceased in the 1980s.

A number of rare plants have been recorded on the site including the narrow leaved bitter cress and ivy leaved bell flower. Surveys have shown that 5 birds of conservation concern use the Reserve including the skylark and lapwing.

Parc Bryn Bach Reserve is within a country park, and so the area is important for biodiversity but also offers opportunities for recreation, education and tourism

Parc Nant y Waun

Lying between the towns of Nantyglo, Brynmawr and Beaufort, this LNR provides a valuable amenity area for local people for a number of activities such as walking, running, cycling, horse riding and fishing. There are plans to improve the educational resource for schools by creating an outdoor classroom/amphitheatre area.

The Reserve supports a rich variety of plants, mammals, birds and insects. Over 132 species of plants and over 38 bird species have been seen here.

Sirhowy Hill Woodlands and Cardiff Pond

This Reserve straddles a mountain ridge at the head of two steep sided valleys of the Ebbw and Sirhowy Rivers. The majority of the Reserve was historically worked for coal, or as a waste tip. Since these closed in the 1970’s a series of tree planting schemes have take place.

The Reserve is valuable in terms of its biodiversity at a County level.

Amongst the birds seen here are 12 species of conservation concern such as kestrel and green woodpecker.

The site provides a valuable resource for the local community. The whole area is open to the public and there is a good network of paths.

The Countryside Council for Wales is an Assembly Government Sponsored Body, working for a better Wales where everyone values and cares for our natural environment. More information about our work is available on www.ccw.gov.uk