The Countryside Maintenance Team continue to grow their contracting business to support our reduced maintenance budgets. We have been branching out into new types of work and have recently completed works to improve the play area for Much Wenlock School, via our Property Services Group. We have also completed phase 1 of a project to revamp a play area for the Forestry Commission at the Wyre Forest Discovery Centre near Bewdley.

The Much Wenlock School Project involved fencing off a rather muddy play area and replacing the surface with specialist play woodchip. This work was completed over the half term to reduce disturbance to the school day and the result is a much more inviting and safer play area for the school to enjoy. These photos show the play area before and after the improvements.

These two projects show that the team are able to deliver play area improvements with the skills and equipment we already have and we hope to deliver more projects such as these in the coming year for the Property Services Group and other customers. The income this generates will be fed back into the service to support further improvements on the Rights of Way network.  Visit our webpage to see past projects.  If you have a project that you think we could help with, please email Paul Butter at or call 01743 791984.

In the early part of the 20th Century the transportation of ore presented a challenge to mine owners, and aerial ropeways provided the solution. They hauled large bins of ore and coal to and from the railway at Malehurst, near Pontesbury, some five miles away.  Compared with the building of railways, the ropeways took less land, were cheaper to operate, and could cope with rough ground and steep gradients.

Aerial Ropeways were a significant development, yet their role in the story of mining in Shropshire has until now, been largely untold.

A project to erect one such ropeway ‘tresle’ as an interpretative feature was recently undertaken by Shropshire Mines Trust. This involved sourcing and transporting a near replica that survived at a brickworks in Lancaster and erecting it on the line of the original ropeway, at the Bog Centre.

Thanks are due to the Stiperstones and Corndon Hill Country Landscape Partnership Scheme for funding the project, to the Bog Centre, and to Outdoor Partnerships for its support.

Access to local heritage was one of the key outcomes of the Stiperstones and Corndon Hill Country Landscape Partnership Scheme (LPS) and this included providing for path users with easier access needs.

The LPS recently engaged the services of Outdoor Partnerships Contracting to create over 2km of paths, improving access to some of the natural and cultural heritage sites in the Scheme portfolio.

Following extensive habitat improvement works, visitors can now enjoy improved access to the historic quarries, Poles Coppice and Nils Hill.  Recent work included re-surfacing paths and improving drainage, parking and interpretation.

At the Bog, the area around the remains of the Miners Institute offers people with all-abilities the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the newly restored reservoir, as well as nearly 1km easy-access along a footpath - part of the ‘Nipstone Wanderer’ circular walk. Natural rustic benches are provided too which the Contracting team sourced and milled from coppiced oak from Outdoor Partnership sites. 

Click on this link for Easy Access paths in Shropshire's Great Outdoors.

The LEADER Programme is a funding stream that was introduced at the start of 2016. It will bring a €2.54 million investment into southern Shropshire, with the overall purpose of improving the economic wellbeing of the area through sustainable development, drawing on the area’s environmental and cultural assets and qualities.

The Southern Shropshire LEADER Programme’s Round 6 closed on the 9th March 2018.  33 Expressions of Interest were received, of which 13 were invited to Full Application.

The Programme is now fully allocated under Priority 1 (Support to Increase Farm Productivity).  Information regarding potential future rounds will be announced in July 2018.

To date 39 projects have been approved with a total grant allocation of £833,851.  The 39 projects are forecast to create 29.5 new jobs, this equates to £28,266 of LEADER intervention per full-time equivalent post.

The Programme recently part-funded the development of a multi-use trail at the National Trust’s Dudmaston Estate. The 4.6km trail aims to increase the number of visitors to a currently under-visited area of the Dudmaston Estate.  The trail will be suitable for families on cycles, walking and also a wide range of users who might choose to explore the woods.

The Southern Shropshire Local Action Group (LAG) continues to allocate funding in line with the approved Delivery Plan. The intention is to be fully allocated by September 2018.  At the time of writing the LAG has received enough Expressions of Interest to achieve full allocation.

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 are forecasted)

To find out more about the Southern Shropshire LEADER Programme or to discuss a potential project idea, please contact the LEADER Programme Manager at Shropshire Council on 01743 254796 or email SouthernShropshireLeader@shropshire.gov.uk

Click on http://shropshire.gov.uk/funding-opportunities/leader-programme-funding for further information.

The Outdoor Partnerships Team have introduced a voluntary car parking charge at the Bog Mine, Stiperstones. It is estimated that well over 60,000 people visit the Bog Mine site and the surrounding Stiperstones landscape each year. The Bog Mine and Visitor Centre is a popular visitor destination for walkers and heritage enthusiasts and all the income from the voluntary donations will be used to help maintain the Bog Mine site, car park and local trails, as well as helping to conserve and the landscape.

North Shropshire’s bees are set for a brighter future thanks to money raised from Shropshire Council’s new countryside membership scheme. The ‘Shropshire’s Great Outdoors’ scheme was launched in December 2016 with all membership fees put towards the maintenance of Shropshire Council’s countryside parks and sites.

Now, the money raised in the first year of the scheme is to be used to improve and enhance the Bee Metropolis that sits alongside The Mere at Ellesmere and provides a home to solitary bees and other invertebrates.

The planned work for early summer 2018 includes enhanced wildflower beds and new information boards showing types of British bees and the food plants they require to survive.

Meanwhile, the Shropshire’s Great Outdoors scheme has been developed for its second year to appeal to a greater range of people, and the list of member benefits has also been revised and improved.  The scheme now offers joint and family membership, in addition to the existing individual membership.

As well as free parking at Shropshire Council’s countryside sites, members of the scheme can now benefit from discounts at The Boathouse in Ellesmere, Severn Valley Country Park café, and on room bookings at the Warden’s Bungalow in Ellesmere – plus 10% discount on many events at Theatre Severn and the Old Market Hall in Shrewsbury, and 10% discounts on events being held at Severn Valley Country Park amongst others.  For a full list of discount benefits for members and information on how to join the scheme visit our SGO webpage.

A TWO-WHEELED jaunt between favourite food and ale stops; a beautiful hill walk, where the train is there to take you home; a night-time search for England’s most elusive predator, the pine marten.

These are just some of the exciting things you can get up to in the beautiful Shropshire Hills, thanks to a project that has created several new tourism products.

Find out all about lots of great new ideas for adventures in the Shropshire Hills by following this link.

Shropshire Council owns and manages some of Shropshire’s most iconic, accessible and interesting countryside sites and the extensive network of footpaths, bridleways and other Rights of Way, providing so many beautiful places to walk, cycle, ride and enjoy the great outdoors.  Government funding for Country Parks, Heritage Sites and Rights of Way management has recently halved and is under further pressure over the next few years. In response, Shropshire Council has put an ambitious plan together to raise income to help ensure that the future of these wonderful sites, and one of the largest Rights of Way networks in the UK, is safeguarded for everyone’s enjoyment.

You can join Shropshire’s Great Outdoors for just £3/month.  To find out more, how to join and the benefits of joining just click on the image.