A five year project to create a new local nature reserve in Scarborough is underway.
The Scalby Beck Local Nature Reserve project will involve local community groups to enhance the habitat and biodiversity of Scalby Beck, Centenary Wood, and Scalby Ness in Scarborough.
Work at the site, which is adjacent to a Yorkshire Water treatment centre, will include practical conservation work and training with volunteers, biological data recording with local groups, community events with residents of Scarborough, and education days with local youth groups and students from the local sixth form college.
The council’s parks service recently secured about £31,000 of external funding to work in partnership with Yorkshire Water on the proposal, according to a recently published report.
Karl Battersby, North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director for environment, said:
“The Scalby Beck Local Nature Reserve project, supported by the Yorkshire Water Biodiversity Fund, is a five-year partnership led by us with support from local conservation and community groups.
“The scheme will help to protect and increase local wildlife and create an open green space for people to enjoy. The area will also see new features introduced, such as benches, signage and wildlife boxes, as well as educational panels explaining the wildlife that lives in the area.”
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that over the next five years, the authority will be running community volunteer days for members of the public to get involved in and have their say about how to enhance the habitat.
“Two ponds have already been created thanks to funding from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to support great crested newts. By 2029/30, the biodiversity data collected will be used to seek further funding to continue the work on site,”
A majority of the project is set to involve community groups and NYC’s Countryside Volunteer Rangers, while some work may include the grounds maintenance teams and the tree and woodlands teams but this will be limited, and built into existing work programmes, a report states.
The £31,000 of funding will be spent on wildlife survey equipment, nest boxes, a site notice board and interpretation panels, as well as volunteer costs, hiring a contracted hedge layer, and other equipment.
Ongoing maintenance of the site will be required after the formal project ends in July 2030, but “this will not be more than is permitted within the role of current Countryside Volunteer Rangers”.
The council said it hopes the support of volunteers and the community will continue beyond the official end of the project.
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