A lasting living legacy for the Diamond Jubilee?
Rugby could be host to one of only 60 of the Woodland Trust's Diamond Woods to mark HM the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Rugby Borough Council revealed the plans for the project at the borough's Diamond Jubilee celebrations last weekend.
A Diamond Wood is at least 60 acres of new publicly accessible woodland. The proposed site is the land off Ashlawn Road below the proposed cemetery and crematorium site, but is not linked to this project. It will be a mixture of native species, open spaces and glades, with a wide variety of habitats to significantly enhance the biodiversity of the area and encourage informal recreational uses. It would create a new 'country park'.
Rugby Borough Council is now asking residents across the borough if this is an initiative that they would like.
Cllr Dr Mark Williams, Rugby Borough Council portfolio holder for Sustainable Environment, said: "It really would be wonderful to be able to create a new woodland that would attract birds such as woodpeckers, jays and owls, and mammals such as shrews, and weasels, on a site so close to the town centre."
"This would however be a beautiful nature centre for people all across the borough, and I do hope that it captures residents' imagination."
Information about the proposed Diamond Wood and how to respond to the consultation is available from the Town Hall and the Visitor Centre, as well as through the council's social networks and website at www.rugby.gov.uk/DiamondWood.
The proposed wood is dependent on the outcome of a grant application through the Woodland Trust to the Forestry Commission.
Photo: Cllr Mark Williams and Sean Lawson, Head of Environmental Services, show off the plans
