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Ex-dairy farm to be turned into RSPB reserve

Joe Skirkowski
BBC News, Wiltshire
Patrick Cashman A view across Roundbarrow Farm showing flat green fields lined by distant hedges. Patrick Cashman
The 120-hectare Roundbarrow Farm was previously used for dairy cattle

A large ex-dairy farm is being turned into a chalk grassland nature reserve with the help of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, it has been announced.

Over the next 10 years, Roundbarrow Farm near Firsdown in Wiltshire should attract "chalk-loving blooms, bees, butterflies and birds", said Patrick Cashman, RSPB site manager.

It is hoped the plans for the farm, owned by Wiltshire Council, will improve water quality in the River Test.

"This is an inspirational project Wiltshire Council have embarked upon with the RSPB," said Mr Cashman.

Establishing the grassland will take years because nutrient pollutants such as those found in cattle manure need to be reduced before the right types of grass can be sown, the charity said.

Graham Goodall A bird stands side-on in green grass. It has a black beak and a thin black feather curving upwards away from the back of its head. Its has a black and white breast, and iridescent feathers on its back. Graham Goodall
Lapwings are among the species that could find a home at the nature reserve

Cattle manure can enter local waterways in heavy rain, so its removal is expected to improve water quality in the River Test as well as in the Solent catchment downstream.

Chalk grasslands are able to support a wide range of native wildlife and plants.

At RSPB Winterbourne Downs, just five miles from Roundbarrow Farm, the charity established a chalk grassland that has attracted stone curlews, lapwings and butterflies including the adonis blue, small blue and marsh fritillary.

It is hoped that these species will also find a home at RSPB Roundbarrow Nature Reserve, as the farm is to be known.

Patrick Cashman A blue butterfly with its wings spread out rests on small white stones. The butterfly has a thin white edge around its wings, next to a thin black edge. It has a hairy-looking blue body and two antennae.Patrick Cashman
The Adonis blue butterfly has been seen at nearby RSPB Winterbourne Downs

Mr Cashman said the RSPB will be considering how wildlife can use the "hedgerows, scrubby edges, woodland and cultivated ground" on the 120-hectare site.

Small-scale livestock grazing will still take place to help maintain the grassland, the charity said.

A new permissive bridleway connecting the villages of Firsdown and Pitton by foot for the first time is expected to open in May.

The public will be able to visit the site on special open days throughout the year.

Councillor Dominic Muns said: "We're pleased to be working with the world-renowned RSPB on this project, and we share a common ambition and shared vision to allow an exemplar chalk grassland to establish."

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