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vernon.stockton@forestry.gov.uk - Images
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- Fingertip Facts
- View facts about Town Lane
Fingertip Facts - Town Lane
Size: 26ha
NWDA investment: £1.78 million
Partners: NWDA, the Forestry Commission, Sefton Borough Council, Mersey Forest, Groundwork Merseyside
Status: development phase complete
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Past
Situated on one of the main traffic routes in and out of Southport, Lancashire, Town Lane is a former landfill site.
Town Lane is a prominent feature on the landscape, and its gentle dome shape (formed through the land filling process), is visible across the surrounding areas, which include a number of residential communities, Southport Commerce Park and a hospital development. The site is also made up of areas of grassland and, prior to Newlands, the site had a number of degraded and unmanaged areas.
Although the site is noted for it's high ecological value (one of the few places in the country where one can see Red Squirrels), the site's history, and its use locally as a fly tipping site, had resulted in the area being underused by local communities or visitors.
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Present
The Town Lane site has now been transformed into a community woodland as part of Newlands. The project is one of the most recent to be delivered through the programme. It has seen significant works carried out on site, including the importation of sand and soil to allow over 12,000 trees and shrubs to be planted. There has also been the development of cycle routes, pathways and bridges to aid movement into and around the site. A viewing point at Town Lane’s highest point has also been created to give visitors the chance to take in the views across Southport and the West Pennine Moors.
Town Lane also now boasts a mountain bike skills course, to encourage visitors to use the site to keep fit.
In spite of all the new features on the site, Town Lane’s delicate eco-system has been protected, and even enhanced as new habitat areas have been created to encourage biodiversity on site.
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Future
The development of a community woodland at Town Lane is already improving the environment for local residents and in the longer term, it will attract further investment to fully occupy Southport Commerce Park. It will also become a useful resource for the nearby Southport General Hospital, with links being made to encourage the site’s use for rehabilitation purposes, as well as a green and pleasant setting for the Hospital to look out over.
Now being managed by the Forestry Commission, Town Lane will continue to be an asset for the local community in the long term. This will include the protection of the site’s valuable wildlife, as well as the on-going engagement with local people, through community events, activities and partnerships with local organisations.
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Regeneration
How Newlands at Town Lane is helping your local economy
Regeneration of Town Lane will increase the prospects for Southport Business Park, and it will enhance the local investments made by the ERDF Objective 1 programme.
The transformation of Town Lane will also play an important role in improving a currently deprived area; creating off-road, green and attractive routes between housing and local amenities, improving a degraded site that attracted anti social behaviour and providing facilities for everyone to use and enjoy.