Pyle nature reserve given go-ahead for expansion

Bridgend County Borough Council has given the nod to allow an extension of the Frog Pond Wood Local Nature Reserve in Pyle to go ahead.

The nature reserve, based near the Village Farm Industrial Estate in Pyle, has already been extended to include land known as ‘Village Farm Meadow’. 

Adjacent to this is another plot that has been naturally colonized over the course of thirty years and has developed into a mixed woodland. This organic process gives the land significant ecological value, as well as adds to the ecological resilience of the Frog Pond Wood Local Nature Reserve within the surrounding landscape.

Owned by Bridgend County Borough Council, the half-acre plot is no longer needed for economic purposes and so lends itself to becoming part of the nature reserve, where the biodiversity of the area can be protected and enhanced. 

In extending the reserve, the council has said that it is committed to protecting this area from inappropriate uses or development, as well as managing the woodland and any invasive species existing there.

Councillor John Spanswick, Bridgend Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities said: “This is a great opportunity for the council to further embrace, manage and protect the biodiversity within the area.

“It is also wonderful that the Frog Pond Wood Local Nature Reserve encourages links with other initiatives such as the Cwm Taf Nature Network. This is a Welsh Government funded project which is part of the Enabling Natural Resources and Wellbeing Scheme – uniting nature, local residents, communities and business.

“Connections have also been made with the Green Links Project – an initiative by Plantlife, a UK conservation charity – which is assisting Bridgend County Borough Council to promote local nature reserves.”

(Lead image: Bridgend County Borough Council)