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Signs point to more nature recovery in Vale 

Did you know that there is Lady’s Bedstraw* growing at Fitzharry’s estate in Abingdon or that you can see Linnets* nesting at Fogwell open space in Cumnor?  

Visitors to meadow areas across the district will be better informed thanks to a series of tailor-made wooden signposts recently installed by the Vale of White Horse District Council at its green spaces. 

The council secured a UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) grant from the government to purchase and install hand-carved bespoke signposts made from sustainably grown chestnut timber**. These are inset with cedar panels giving information about the plants and wildlife living at each individual site.  

The project aims to raise awareness of the importance of nature recovery generally as well as the council’s rewilding initiative in particular. Since 2022, the council has sought to leave increasing areas of its land unmown to encourage biodiversity. The council has chosen locations which are not used for sports or play and do not impact on pedestrians or sightlines for drivers. They are also near shorter grass areas and pathways for people. 

There are now 23 ‘Let it bee’ meadow areas which are left unmown and a further six wildflower meadow area sites which are actively sown with wildflower seeds to encourage growth. Together these sites cover more than 89,000m² of land (which equates to around 13 football pitches) which is owned by the council or managed by the its grounds maintenance team. 

The new information posts can be seen at the following 14 locations: 

  • Abingdon – Abbey Meadow, Rye Farm, Tilsley Park, Mons Way, Herons Walk and Fitzharry’s estate 
  • Botley – St Paul’s Crescent 
  • Cumnor – Fogwell open space  
  • Faringdon – Folly Park, Folly View and Marlborough Gardens 
  • Marcham – Howard Cornish Way  
  • Wantage – Manor Road Memorial Park and Mably Way 
  • A further signpost will be added at the meadow area at the White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre when work to replace the heating system is completed later this year. 

In addition to the signposts, seven new meadow areas have been added to the list – including Drayton Road, Lenthall Road and Nuneham Square in Abingdon, The Glebe in Cumnor, Coleshill Drive in Faringdon, Southdown Court in Stanford in the Vale and Mably Grove in Wantage. While seven existing sites have been extended. 

There has been some tree planting at Abbey Meadow in Abingdon with a belt of flowering and fruiting native woodland species and around 32 new sequoia trees (pictured below) put into the ground last month. 

Andrew Busby, Vale of White Horse District Council Head of Development and Corporate Landlord said: “We are pleased we can continue to increase the amount of land we devote to encouraging biodiversity – offering habitat for wildlife and pollinators. And with these new signs we are able to share more easily with the public what we are trying to achieve for nature recovery.” 

More info on our meadows for nature recovery webpage here. 

Notes to editors 

*Lady’s Bedstraw is a wildflower which often grows in grassland. Linnets are a small songbird, a member of the finch species (more on RSPB site). 

** The signposts are made by Greenspace Designs Ltd from English grown sweet chestnut timber with etched front panels made from cedar. The timber is sourced from sustainably managed forests typically in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset under the FSC scheme. The timber is cut in the workshop to minimise timber transport miles. 

This project is funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.