New wetland bird reserve planned near Grimsby

Looks exciting, hope they cater for the disabled of us!

Plans have been unveiled for the proposed new wader mitigation reserve on the outskirts of Grimsby.

It has been designed by Roger Wardle who did likewise for the sites at Middlemarsh and Cress Marsh.

Attached are images of the proposed layout and of the hide.

The site, which will be overseen by CCTV, will be managed by North East Lincolnshire Council who will be hoping for monitoring/counting support from Lincolnshire Bird Club members.

It looks promising. At high tide, Waders won't have to fly far from the Humber Estuary - in fact, they will probably be able to take a leisurely stroll.

Let's hope no tentacled worms show up:(

Confirmation has come today that access will be available to Lincs Bird Club members whose sightings will be greatly welcomed. There will be a few cattle on site, and members will be encouraged to keep an eye out for their welfare.

A formal planning application is currently being finalised, but North East Lincolnshire Council will almost certainly grant consent.

I think it will be great for waders - might even give Frampton a run for its money!

Sounds like we are going to lose Killingholme pits.

A NEW wetland bird reserve is set to be created on the South Bank of the Humber.

It will be developed on land around the site of the Novartis chemical works, on the outskirts of Grimsby, when the multinational company says farewell at the end of this year.

To be known as Novartis Ings, it will be a sister site to the Cress Marsh project in nearby Stallingborough which has, at last, begun to attract waders and waterfowl after a slow start - partly attributed to its being underneath overhead power cables and partly to the land having been contaminated over many years by agriculture-chemicals.

This new reserve will have neither of these disadvantages and will benefit from being adjacent to the Pyewipe mudflats - one of the UK’s most important sites for feeding and roosting waders of numerous species.

Like Cress Marsh, it will be a “mitigation site” provided to compensate for wildlife habitat likely to be lost to make way for industrial development nearby.

It is unlikely to be open to the public in the same way as, say, the RSPB reserves at Frampton and Freiston, but it is hoped that access will be made available to LBC members for recording/monitoring purposes.

More details about this exciting project are likely to emerge within the next few weeks.