A former house that overlooks The Mere in Ellesmere is now available for local groups and organisations to hire after being given a new lease of life.

The Warden’s Bungalow – which is located in Cremorne Gardens close to the children’s play area – has been refurbished and redecorated by Shropshire Council after standing empty for a number of years.

Since January 2017 it has been home to the council’s Country Parks and Heritage Sites team, which coordinates the management of countryside sites across the north of the county, including The Mere.

However the majority of the building is being made available for local groups and organisations to hire for functions, meetings, and other events.

The building will be available to hire from Monday to Friday.

Those hiring the building will be able to make use of a large meeting/function room, a kitchen, toilets and showers, and a small garden – as well as having easy access to The Mere and the nearby play area.

A project to formalise a Shropshire Way “Main Route” has been underway over the past few months to overcome the confusion presented by the existing cobweb of routes representing Shropshire’s flagship promoted route.  The project, driven by the newly reformed Shropshire Way Association (SWA), hopes to give the walker a definitive long distance route which showcases some of the best landscapes, countryside and heritage of the County and can be “ticked off” as completed. 

Work started back in July 2016 with a consultation on the route with the results showing that a figure of eight line encompassing both the north and south of the County was a preferred option.  The SWA have designed a distinctive new orange waymark which will distinguish the route from the remaining Shropshire Way network.

It needs to be noted that what already exists on the ground as the Shropshire Way, with its black buzzard waymarks, will remain for those whose want to do shorter or alternative routes or simply wish to explore more of our beautiful County. 

Work behind the scenes has started on the southern loop (pictured below) where a route has been established and efforts are underway to survey the condition of this line and establish where improvements need undertaking. 

The majority of the condition surveys are being carried out by Parish Paths Partnership (P3) groups through whose parishes the proposed line takes.  A huge thank you should be given to all the P3 groups who have given their services to this project, many of whom have offered to survey in neighbouring parishes where there are no active P3 volunteers.  It is hoped that the southern loop will be launched this year, watch this space!

Everyone in the Outdoor Partnerships team is pleased to give a warm welcome to Sarah Fortune, the new Assistant Ranger at Severn Valley Country Park.  Sarah is on a 12 month placement with the park, funded through the Stiperstones and Corndon Hill Country Landscape Partnership Scheme, and will be sorely needed help with the everyday running of the park and the delivery of events and educational projects as the Spring and Summer seasons arrive.  Here's a bit about herself in her own words:

I am currently back living in my home town of Bridgnorth, after graduating in Countryside Conservation from Aberystwyth University last summer. Whilst at university I was a member of the Aberystwyth Conservation Volunteers, which allowed me to experience some common practical conservation work as well as being a lot of fun!

Since graduating, I have been volunteering with the National Trust at a variety of local properties, as well as at Severn Valley Country Park - which is now the base for my trainee placement. My year will also include work out on other sites managed by the Shropshire Council Outdoor Partnerships Team within the Stiperstones and Corndon Hill Country area, namely The Bog, Snailbeach, and Poles Coppice. I will be leading and working with volunteer groups, undertaking valuable practical management of the country park and other sites, in order to develop the habitats for particular species and increase overall biodiversity. Additionally, I will be helping to maintain the access and facilities for visitors, as well as education work – running activities such as pond dipping and mini beast hunts for school groups and event sessions.

My course at university gave me a good foundation of knowledge to build upon. Through this traineeship, I am keen to put that knowledge into action and develop my practical conservation skills in the day-to-day role of an assistant ranger. Be that through getting my chainsaw licence, devising and undertaking flora and fauna surveys, or simply improving my ID skills - I am excited to see where the year ahead of me will lead!

Eardington Nature Reserve now has a bird hide overlooking a woodland glade. The hide has been purchased and erected by Friends of Eardington Nature Reserve (FENR). The Postcode Local Trust provided the funding for the building as part of a larger project, concentrating on birds of conservation concern.  The grant also included 14 nest boxes, appropriate for marsh tit, starling, tree sparrow and grey wagtail and over 50m of new planting of hawthorn-dominated mixed species hedging. Pictured is Ian Barrie, chair of FENR in the new hide.

This Spring another grant application will be submitted to upgrade paths and make the site more accessible to pushchairs and wheelchairs. This should allow more visitors to enjoy the unique wildlife at this former quarry site.

The Southern Shropshire LEADER Programme’s latest round closed on the 8th February 2017.  48 applications were received, of which 30 have been invited to Full Application.  The next round for applications will open on 30th May 2017.

The Southern Shropshire LEADER Local Action Group have approved 11 projects with a total grant allocation to date of £307,005.  The 11 projects forecast to create 13.8 new jobs, this equates to £22,247 of LEADER intervention per full-time equivalent post.  The programme part funded the installation of Automatic Footbaths, Cow Mattresses and Pillows at a local dairy farm . This will improve herd foot health, reduce herd lameness, improve the overall health and welfare of the herd and in turn improve the overall performance and sustainability of the holding by improved milk yields and cow fertility

Businesses, groups or organisations wishing to apply for funding will need to demonstrate a benefit to the local rural economy and a connection to the landscape which should contribute to the creation of jobs or the development of businesses in the Southern Shropshire LEADER rural area.

The amount of grant available is dependent on the outputs of the project but a typical maximum grant will be between £35,000 and £40,000 (larger grants will be considered where significant outputs can are forecasted).

Severn Valley Country Park has had a make-over!  Staff have been working hard over the winter months to upgrade the kitchen which now has a panini oven, coffee machine and new appliances ready for the launch of the new menu.  A woodburner and new flooring have been fitted in the visitor centre and new furniture is on its way to complete the revamp.  Work is very near completeion and it is hoped that the new facilities and lovely surroundings will attract more visitors into the teashop to generating more income to help fund the day to day running of the park.  Staff at SVCP would like to thank all the volunteers who have helped with this work.

In addition to the refurbishment in the visitor centre a new sewage treatment plant has been fitted to treat waste from the centre. The old tank could not cope with the visitor numbers and with these set to increase this upgrade was a real necessity.