Nature reserve plans plus education centre for St Asaph farm

Denbighshire residents have until April 14 to comment on plans for a nature reserve at the council-owned land at the disused Greengates Farm on Abergele Road, near St Asaph Business Park.

The council has now commissioned Conwy-based Cadnant Planning Ltd to conduct a public consultation on the plans to convert the agricultural land.

The 13.3-hectare site will be financed by the UK Government’s shared prosperity fund and involves planting local provenance trees and wildflowers.

Denbighshire residents have until April 14 to comment on plans for a nature reserve at the council-owned land at the disused Greengates Farm on Abergele Road, near St Asaph Business Park..

The plans will also include paths and boardwalks through natural wildlife habitats, featuring ponds wetlands with a hibernacula suitable for amphibians and reptiles to nest during winter.

There are also proposals for a tower for bird watchers, an educational centre, and organised events.

Once the consultation is complete, the council will submit a planning application to its own planning department.

The reserve would comprise native broadleaf woodland, scrub, wood pasture, wildflower meadow, ponds, and the erection of a wildlife barn.

Previously infilled ponds would be restored, and new ponds created, resulting in a total of 14 ponds across the site.

The new wildlife barn would be constructed with features ‘specially designed to support a wide variety of wildlife’, including nesting birds and roosting bats.

A spokesman for Cadnant Planning commented, “We give notice that Denbighshire County Council is intending to apply for full planning permission for the change of use of land from agricultural land to a new nature reserve.”

To comment on the plans, visit https://www.cadnantplanning.co.uk/greengates-farm