Hastings Borough Council is putting the natural environment at the heart of its regeneration programme for the town.
By investing in the restoration of Fairlight Place Farmland, Hastings Country Park, and the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of Hastings Cliffs, the Council aims to play a key role in safeguarding and encouraging our wildlife heritage.
A new combined management plan has now been written to help deliver environmental benefits at the sites and the Council has been awarded grant aid from the Government over the next ten years, in line with its policies to protect vulnerable habitats and wildlife. The Council is being advised on agricultural matters by ADAS.
Our new management plan and restoration proposals are aimed at creating an environment where wildlife will flourish and people can enjoy it to the full.
Work is now well underway at the Farmland. Fields have already been sown with barley and they all have sixmetre borders that will be seeded with wildflowers at a later date. Sowing arable crops in springtime, rather than the traditional time of autumn, provides birds with food and shelter throughout the winter. Birds such as yellowhammer and linnet have been declining throughout the UK due to the intensive way the land has been managed. One other field has been left to grow tall grass to encourage ground-nesting birds such as skylarks and meadow pipits.
By managing the fields for wildlife we aim to increase the numbers of traditional farm nesting birds. In order to provide habitat for creatures such as beetles and the rare bees that are characteristic of the site, raised soil banks known as beetle banks have been constructed on two of the arable fields.
The majority of the farmland now has new fencing in order to make the fields secure for cattle. April saw the return of cattle to the farm for the first time in six years and more will be introduced over the coming months. The difference between cattle on the farm fields this time and when the farm was a dairy operation is that we are introducing low numbers of beef cattle to graze and manage the fields, rather than the large numbers needed to sustain a dairy operation.
The limited number of cattle will bring the maximum environmental benefits for wildlife. The cattle will ensure the fields provide home for the large numbers of small mammals such a field mice that are food for our pair of nesting barn owls.
We will be identifying key fields for ploughing and sowing with a mixture of native wildflower and grass seeds to ensure the fields provide the greatest value for wildlife.
Visitors to the area will continue to see changes. The Council is committed to providing a high quality natural environment for both wildlife and for the large numbers of visitors to the area. Our ten-year grant and our management plan will allow us to do just that.
Improved interpretation and access are key objectives for the coming years. A recently completed section of the Access for All trail allows visitors with impaired mobility to visit new areas of the park. We will continue working with groups such as the Hastings and Rother Disability Forum to improve access and interpretation for everyone. Our longterm vision is to provide a brand new visitor centre. Until then, information on management will be updated at the current centre.
A Country Park Management Forum, which includes councillors Jay Kramer, Annette Barton, John Wilson, Anne Bird and David Hancock, has been established to oversee the management and investment in the Park and Farm. Councillor Terry Soan will replace Councillor Barton from the beginning of June.
Councillor Jay Kramer, portfolio holder for Leisure and Cultural Development and chair of the Management Forum, said:
“I am so pleased that the Council is managing the largest area of open space in the borough for the benefit of wildlife and people. This project is central to our commitment to place environmental regeneration at the heart of our proposals for the town. It is one of the best-loved and most important wildlife sites in the Borough. The Council is proud to have received Government grant aid to help manage this wonderful area for generations to come.”
If you want to find out more, a new display with up- todate information can be seen at the Visitors Centre.
Contacts: Borough Ecologist, 01424 451107
Reserves Officer, 01424 451043
Parks & Open Spaces Manager 01424 451372
Ranger Service 01424 813225
Email parks@hastings.gov.uk
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This page last updated: 22/06/2005