| Welcome to the Spring 2016 edition of the Shropshire Outdoor Partnerships Newsletter, here you will find out about the latest news, projects and activity in Shropshire's Great Outdoors. In this edition: As you may be aware Shropshire Council recently announced its 3 year Funding Strategy covering the period 2016/17 through to 2018/19 on 27th January 2016. The budget years for 2017/18 and 2018/19 were at the time for noting, however in order to achieve a balanced budget, should alternative funding streams not be found, then the worst case scenario was highlighted – this included a range of service areas including Public Open Spaces having their budgets reduced to nil. Shropshire Council is now currently looking to work with partners to see how we can close the funding gap for the operation of these services. Shropshire Council has recently met with Town & Parish Councils where it explained the challenge it faces and where there are other opportunities that the funds to operate these spaces could be found, for example through Town & Parish Councils generating their own income to fund to these costs. Of course there will be other examples of how the monies can be raised – this is just one of them. At present Officers are working closely with a range of partners in their respective areas and should you wish to be involved in those conversations then do please let us know and we will ensure that we involve you. The final decision in what will happen is not expected until the Autumn to allow sufficient time for these discussions to take place, email Shropshire Outdoor Partnerships if you would like have your say. See the map below for the all Shropshire Parks and Heritage Sites.    Enjoy getting out and about in Shropshire's Great Outdoors? Need to know more about where to go and what to do? Looking for a great family day out? Our new website is being officially launched making the answer to these questions just a click away. The new website, www.shropshiresgreatoutdoors.co.uk has been designed to provide a user-friendly experience allowing residents and visitors to the UK's largest land locked county to discover its fantastic countryside, exceptional views and wonderful wildlife. On the easy-to-navigate website users can explore Shropshire's Green-flag Award winning country parks, heritage sites and play areas or get active on over 5,500 kilometres of Public Rights of Way. With the Shropshire Hills designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Stiperstones and Corndon Hill Country Landscape Partnership Scheme with its beautiful upland landscapes and the internationally important Meres and Mosses in the north, Shropshire is the perfect place to enjoy the great outdoors. So whatever sort of walking or outdoor experience you are looking for, whether close to a market town, showing some of the best countryside or with a pub lunch to finish off the search criteria on the website will help you find it. |   The Southern Shropshire LEADER Local Action Group has secured £2 million of European funding through the LEADER Programme (2015-2020). LEADER is part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) and is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The LEADER Local Development Strategy seeks to implement the six national LEADER priorities: - Increasing farm productivity in ways which enhance natural capital
- Developing sustainable micro and small enterprises and farm diversification
- Building rural tourism making the most of Shropshire's assets
- Improving rural services to support business growth and development
- Enhancing the natural, cultural and heritage attractions of the area
- Increasing woodland and forest productivity in ways which enhance natural capital
Businesses, groups or organisations wishing to apply for funding will need to demonstrate a benefit to the local rural economy and a connection to the landscape which should contribute to the creation of jobs or the development of businesses in the Southern Shropshire LEADER rural area. The amount of grant available is dependent on the outputs of the project but a typical maximum grant will be between £35,000 and £40,000. The latest round of funding opened on Monday 4 April 2016. Outline applications (OA) will need to be submitted by 6 May 2016. If your OA is deemed to be eligible and meets the local priorities of the Southern Shropshire LEADER programme you will be invited to the full application (FA) stage. A final decision will be made in September 2016, and if an application is successful a project funding contract will be issued. Once the contract has been signed, grant-eligible activity can commence. To find out more about the Southern Shropshire LEADER Programme click this link or to discuss a potential project idea or to obtain an Application Pack please contact the LEADER Programme Manager at Shropshire Council on 01743 255067 or email Pete Banford |  As a result of the recent change in plastic bag charges Tesco is offering up a fund for Community Projects. The money raised from the 5p bag charge in stores in England, Wales and Scotland will be used to pay for a large number of local projects to improve green spaces in communities. Projects that get the green light as a result of the funding will include building new pocket parks, sports facilities, woodland walks and community gardens. The Mere at Ellesmere Project The Mere at Ellesmere has just secured £12,000 to construct two new jetties from the new Tesco Bags of Help fund. After a public vote at Tesco stores our project was awarded 1st place. The Mere at Ellesmere is the largest of the lakes in the Mere and Mosses landscape, it has parkland which attracts more visitors every year and is the pride of locals. In 2014 the site gained recognition of its excellence with Green Flag designation. The lake is central to the essence of what makes Ellesmere an attractive market town in the heart of the Shropshire Lake District. However, most people of Ellesmere have never had the opportunity to venture onto the Mere and see their town from this unique perspective. This project will enable the construction of two new jetties made from recycled plastic (approximately 25,000 carrier bags worth of plastic). These jetties will enhance the area enormously encouraging more people to explore the Meres and Mosses. From pleasure crafts to rowing boat hire, canoeing by school and community groups to Ellesmere Anglers and even research by universities and colleges the project will offer up some great opportunities. Adding a second jetty on the opposite side of The Mere will create a 'Circular Route', to enable the public to a view the parkland from many angles, attracting more people to use the boating facilities. This will entice visitors to further explore The Mere and all it has to offer, namely the park, gardens, woodland trail, boathouse restaurant. It will also bring local residents and visitors closer to nature, experiencing the wonderful scenery and local wildlife. A celebration event is planned for early summer. |  Photograph: Ian Roberts  Stanmore Country Park Project The Friends of Stanmore Country Park have been successful in obtaining a grant of £8,000 from the Bags of Help Scheme to fund improvements to the Country Park. These include new interpretation boards depicting the history of the site and the upgrading of paths for easy access. A new way-marked walk linking the park with the Hermitage, a route that RAF trainees used to follow. Overgrown footpaths will be cleared so that local people can enjoy exploring this wonderful area of Bridgnorth. The natural heritage of the park will also be enhanced. The site was once home to several rare black poplar trees, sadly these were lost in high winds. The grant will pay for planting an avenue of these amazing trees, as well as a commemorative poppy bed and a community orchard. Thank you to the Friends Group, Outdoor Partnerships staff and to the public for all their hard work with this grant application. Our practical volunteer days will begin again in the autumn and we hope to be able to start some of the improvements to the site then, if not before. For more information about the Stanmore project or to find out more about volunteering at Stanmore Country Park please call 01746 781192 or email James Brookes | A special prize is available for any runner who beats the record on a local 5km Trail Run this summer. The Severn Valley Trail Run is an off-road run through woodlands, meadows and along the banks of the River Severn. Any runner who manages to get around the course in less than 19.08 minutes will receive a special prize. The course record was set last year by a runner from Telford Athletic Running Club. The event will be held at Severn Valley Country Park in Alveley on Sunday 12th June. It is being organised by the Outdoor Partnerships Team at Shropshire Council and has been generously sponsored by Stinky-Ink (an online retailer of printer cartridges), Doolittle and Dalley (a local Estate Agents) and Go Outdoors in Kidderminster. There will be chip-timing, medals for all finishers and refreshments. The 10km race has sold out in record time but spaces remain on the 5km route. To enter, please click here or for more information, please call 01746 781192   |  Back in March 2015 stakeholder involvement, through an "Access for All" workshop, laid the groundwork for access improvements to sites in the Pontesbury/Minsterley area. Representatives from Walking for Health, P3, Shropshire Mines Trust, Quest 88 and Friends of Pontesford Hill were given a voice on how and where access improvements for those with limited mobility would be viable and beneficial. Nils Quarry and Poles Coppice were identified as having the potential for improvement and work started to create all ability access at the quarry floor area at Nils and the viewpoint area of Poles Coppice with a 200m surfaced path, accessible parking and new accessible picnic benches all being created Habitat improvements were also a consideration and some small wetland scrapes were created at Nils to encourage a variety of wildlife with further habitat and woodland management work to continue under the Rescuing Rocks and Overgrown Relics as well as wildlife surveys, particularly moths and butterflies which proved very popular last year. The work was undertaken by the Outdoor Partnerships Public Rights of Way Team as a delivery partner and paid for through the Landscape Partnership Scheme (LPS). The project also engaged Shropshire Wild Teams, Pontesbury P3 and LPS volunteers and many thanks must be given for the hard work by all involved. Future plans include new interpretation boards and a possible viewpoint feature. Less abled people who would like to arrange a guided visit of the sites should contact Joe Penfold to arrange this.
|  A schedule of works has been drawn up, with input from the Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Pontesbury P3 and Friends of Pontesford Hill, designed to improve accessibility to Pontesford and Earls Hill. Shropshire Wildlife Trust was awarded £16,000 from SITA Trust to deliver the works with £7500 match fund from the LPS. The Outdoor Partnerships ROW Team have been contracted to complete the works with in-kind contributions from P3, Wild Team and LPS volunteers. The plans for improvements include more accessible car parking, access along the Bulldozer track, bridleway gates, replacing old steps on minor paths down to Habberley Brook, rustic seating, work on veteran trees and improved waymarking and signage throughout. Watch this space!  The curlew breeding season has started and everyone can get involved with helping the Stiperstones and Corndon Hill Country LPS in a project to try and reverse the decline of this iconic species. Click on this Ground Nesting Birds Recovery Project link for updates and to get involved with the following: - Using an electronic irecord system to record casual sightings of curlews in the LPS area to help pinpoint nests for the Nest Monitoring project
- Look out for a number of art events and activities taking place this summer to celebrate these magnificent birds and highlight the threats to them
- Follow news of Mary Colwell-Hector's walk around Britain to raise awareness of the plight of British curlews, she will be walking locally on 14th May
- Contribute to the public appeal fund to help save our local curlew population
- Join one of the three Community Wildlife Groups in the area, getting out and about in the spring countryside to survey the numbers and whereabouts of local curlews using public rights of way.
- Follow the two curlews satellite tagged in our area, while we try to gain better knowledge of curlew migration patterns throughout the year
- Updates on our Nest Monitoring Project – last year none of the nests were successful, will any eggs or young survive this year?
For further information please email Amanda Perkins (Countryside Officer) or call on 01938 561741  Two fantastic new walks and a cycle route have been produced through the LPS. On these you will be taken through some of Shropshire's most spectacular scenary and lanscape features. To download the PDF versions of these leaflets click on the following links: Ancient Trees and Stones, Hope Valley's Hidden Heritage, The Cold Hill Climb  The Long Mynd & Stiperstones Shuttle Bus will start again on Saturday 30th April 2016 and run every weekend and bank holiday Mondays until October 2016 Unfortunately, Castle Connect, which ran between Ludlow, Knighton, Clun and Bishop's Castle will not be running in 2016. This route was set up three years ago as part of Shropshire's Sustainable Transport Project. Now that funding has ceased, the cost of running this service for another year was in danger of putting the future of the Long Mynd & Stiperstones Shuttle at risk. Thank you to all who supported this route over the last couple of years. We are looking at other options to better link the towns with the hills, and will be applying for new grants to support this. Sit back and enjoy the scenery as the Shuttle Bus travels over the Long Mynd and around the Stiperstones. Together these 'hills' make up the largest area of heathland in the Shropshire Hills. Come late summer they are a sea of purple and not to be missed. The National Trust looks after much of the Long Mynd, while the most wildlife-rich and geologically dramatic area of the Stiperstones is managed as a National Nature Reserve by Natural England. Both organisations strike the delicate balance between conservation, agriculture and visitor enjoyment, so by using the Bus you're helping with this balancing act. |
