Elk rewilding centre on island gets council backing

Plans to create an International School of Rewilding (ISR) featuring elk on the Isle of Wight have been backed by councillors.

Sandown Town Council is supporting the proposal from Wildheart Trust for a 140 hectare (345 acre) site with elk-rewilded wetlands and visitor facilities.

Chief executive of the trust, Lawrence Bates, told councillors the school would create the "most amazing wildlife spectacle" and "drive people into the area".

According to Wildheart Animal Sanctuary, the ISR would be an "international centre for research, study and innovation in environmental sciences".

It would cater to students from the island and mainland, a paper from the sanctuary explained.

Councillors heard the ISR would also develop a "year-round economy" and investment partnerships with universities and environmental science industries.

The document presented to the town council laid out the site location, which includes underused parts of the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary, areas of the Browns Estate formerly used for golf and inland grazing marshes by the River Yar.

Lawrence Bates, CEO at Wildheart Trust, spoke to Sandown Town Council about the plans

Speaking at the meeting, Mr Bates said: "We want to restore the wetland that is already there and Natural England and Environment Agency have a remit to improve it and make it wetter already.

"We want to restore 140 hectares of land, creating open areas of water, allowing migratory birds to come here, allowing overwintering birds and increasing the amount of wildlife we already have."

Mr Bates continued: "To manage that we want to do it with next-generation techniques and that's with megaherbivores like European Elk or water buffalo or similar and that will put us on the map because there's only a handful of places in the UK that have done this."

Proposed visitor facilities include boardwalks across wetlands and viewpoints and hides which would connect to the cycling and walking infrasturcture plans.

The site would also include multi-purpose lecture and workshop spaces, marine labratories, student accommodation and lodge-style accommodation for visitors.

A business case is now being put together, according to the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary, and following an agreement in principle the organisation said it would pursue commercial investment.