Marshes for nature reserve status

05 February 2010

A DOUBLE-BARREL of good news for nature was delivered at the South Hornchurch and Rainham Area Committee meeting.

Rainham Marshes is set to officially receive Local Nature Reserve (LNR) status, subject to Havering Council Cabinet and Natural England approval, and a new visitor centre is planned for Hornchurch Country Park.

The two separate announcements were heard by the committee and residents at the meeting held in South Hornchurch Community Hall on Wednesday, January 27.

The report proposing the declaration of the marshes as a new local nature reserve came minutes after a presentation by Tony Gunton of Action for Havering's Wildlife, who, along with speaking about Havering's endangered creatures and insects, announced the council's plans to introduce a new visitor centre at Hornchurch Country Park.

Environmental strategy manager for Havering Council, Peter Williams, estimated around £1.7million would be needed but said it was still early days and reminded the committee it took eight years to introduce the visitor centre at Bedford's Park.

Moving on to the announcement on the marshes wildspace, project officer for Havering Council, Benjamin Sanderson said: "Alongside the declaration there will be a £5million investment into the site".

The cash will go towards improving access to the marshes, the surrounding highway to Rainham Village, and work by Havering Council and the RSPB to link up the marsh sites either side of the A13.

Declaring the Rainham Marshes as an LNR will also help further protect the marshes' wildlife habitats and natural features, make it possible to apply by-laws to manage and protect the site, help build relationships with nature conservation organisations, further strengthen the council's commitment to ensure the site's biodiversity interest is protected and hopefully attract external funding from other agencies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund, Natural England and the Environment Agency.

Mr Sanderson was appointed in 2008 under the council's Local Area Agreement, originally as Countryside Projects Officer, to declare four new LNR's in Haveirng to unlock a £6million performance reward grant from the Department of Communities and Local Government.

Rainham Marshes will be Havering's seventh LNR and the latest of four declared LNR's in the last two years including Cranham Marsh, Cranham Brickfields and Bedford's Park bringing Havering's LNRs to a total 400hectares and achieving the LNR target.

Cllr Michael-Deon Burton said he hoped the news would "send out the message loud and clear we should be proud of what makes this borough".