Fundraising launched to purchase Norwich reserve for public

A wildlife charity hopes to purchase Sweet Briar Marshes

A charity hopes to raise £600,000 to buy an area of marshland to create a city centre nature reserve.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT) wants to purchase Sweet Briar Marshes in Norwich and turn it into a free to visit protected area for the public.

NWT president, Patrick Barkham described Sweet Briar Marshes as a "miraculous treasure".

The 90 acre site, (36.6 hectares) runs along the River Wensum close to the city centre.

"Increasingly surrounded by urban development, this special wild place, which includes a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), is in danger of deterioration and fragmentation, and could be lost as a vital home for wildlife," said the NWT.

The land comprises a mosaic of fen, rough meadow, grazing marsh, old hedgerows and young woodland.

Species such as the water vole inhabit the marshes

The area supports the southern marsh orchid

It is home to rare and scarce species of plants and animals, including water vole, water shrew, common toad and frog, orchids, reed bunting, willow warbler and snipe.

The NWT said the area supports wildlife with capacity to absorb flood waters, acting "as a sponge to protect local residential areas".

"A flagship urban nature reserve of this scale will act as a vital stepping stone for wildlife in an otherwise urban landscape, giving wildlife in Norwich a better chance to survive and thrive," said NWT chief executive officer, Eliot Lyne.

"A healthier, wilder and more accessible Sweet Briar Marshes will provide local communities with a valuable connection to the natural world, and with 40 schools within two miles of the site, local children will grow up happier, healthier, and better connected to nature too."

Map of proposed nature reserve for Norwich

The land was bought last month by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, an organisation which aims to improve the natural world and strengthen communities across the UK.

It has agreed to hold the land for 22 months to give NWT time to raise the cash to buy it.

The purchase had the support of local community groups, the Wensum Residents Association and the Marlpit Community Centre who were "beyond delighted" the marshes could now be protected from development.

Insurance firm Aviva, which has some 5,000 employees living and working in Norwich, is matching the NWT appeal pound-for-pound raised, up to £300,000.

The creation of a nature reserve has been welcomed by local groups