WORK has started on a £750,000 land reclamation project which will transform an old tip site into new sports pitches, children’s play area and other open green space.
The North West Development Agency, in partnership with Cheshire County Council and Warrington Borough Council, is providing £543,000 towards the cost of the scheme at Bewsey Tip.
Warrington Borough Council is providing the rest of the funding.
Taking two years to complete, the scheme will also include a network of surfaced pathways and improved access links to Sankey Valley Park.
The scheme will increase opportunities for walking, cycling and horse riding, attracting new visitors to the area for formal sports and competitions. It is hoped that the land will become a hub of recreational activity which will contribute to the health and wellbeing of local residents.
The former tip is already important for wildlife and is designated a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) in the borough council’s adopted Unitary Development Plan. The proposals build on this by making further habitat improvements while at the same time promoting public access.
The measures to be introduced follow on from public consultation carried out last year by the borough council as part of the Bewsey/Dallam community project.
Richard Tracey, regeneration executive at the NWDA said: “The former Bewsey tip site will enhance quality of life for local people, creating an environment that will help to attract further investment.”
This scheme is part of a programme of works called REVIVE where Cheshire County Council and NWDA are working together to reclaim 170 hectares of brownfield land in Cheshire and Warrington.
In March last year both the County Council and NWDA signed an agreement to secure £17.3 million of NWDA grant to transform and create new open green space with improved public access, while preserving and enhancing nature conservation on areas of derelict and neglected land.
