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Exeter Valley Park to see access upgrades

A Devon-based conservation charity is set to make ‘substantial’ improvements to one of Exeter’s most beautiful green spaces.

Barley Valley Park - one of six Valley Parks in Exeter managed by Devon Wildlife Trust on behalf of their owners, Exeter City Council – will undergo a series of improvements this spring to improve access for local people and other visitors.

Devon Wildlife Trust has been awarded a grant of £12,800 from Viridor Credits Environmental Company which will pay for improving path surfaces, replacing steps and boardwalks. New benches and an on-line guide to visiting Barley Valley Park are also planned. This project has also been enabled by a donation from The Dixon Foundation.

Barley Valley Park covers 11 hectares of rolling hills, wildflower pastures and woodland on the western edges of the city. It offers some off the best views of Exeter from its position above Exwick and yet is not one of the better-known of the city’s green spaces.

 

Devon Wildlife Trust’s Chris Moulton leads the team of staff and volunteers who care for all of Exeter’s Valley Parks. Chris said:

“Barley Valley Park is much-loved by local people. Despite being only one and a half miles from the city centre and making up a scenic stretch of the Exeter Green Circle walk, it remains something of a hidden gem.

We know from listening to the local community that they want to see access improvements made at the Valley Park – including better paths, repairs to steps and new boardwalks over muddy areas. So that is what we’re about to embark upon thanks to funding from Viridor Credits. We want the result to be a Barley Valley Park which is more accessible to greater numbers of people.”  

 

Gareth Williams, Operations Manager at Viridor Credits, said:

“It is a pleasure to work with Devon Wildlife Trust again. Contact with the natural environment is an essential ingredient for mental wellbeing, and this project will help bring the beauty of Barley Valley Park to many more people.”

Alongside these improvements, Devon Wildlife Trust will be working with local people asking them to volunteer to become part of the team which cares for the Valley Park. The charity has already recruited two ‘voluntary rangers’ from the Exwick community. Now it is seeking other people to come forward for a range of tasks which will include litter-picking, woodland planting and regular path maintenance. People interested should contact valleyparks@devonwildlifetrust.org

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The Dixon Foundation logo

Editor's notes

Devon Wildlife Trust is the county’s leading environmental charity, with more than 50,000 members. The charity manages 60 nature reserves across Devon, including a range of beautiful landscapes such as woodlands, meadows, wetlands and heaths. Devon Wildlife Trust relies on charitable donations, grants and the generous support of its members and the general public to raise more than £5million every year. Money raised is spent maintaining our work for wildlife conservation and education in Devon, for present and future generations. More at www.devonwildlifetrust.org

 

Viridor Credits Environmental Company seeks applications from not-for-profit groups and organisations and community groups. Applications can be made for projects that fall into one of three categories (below), provided that the project is located within 10 miles of an active Viridor landfill site or Energy Recovery Facility (ERF). They are:

  • Provision or improvement of a public amenity;
  • The conservation or promotion of biological diversity through:

o the provision, conservation, restoration or enhancement of a natural habitat, or

o the maintenance or recovery of a species or its habitat on land or water; and

  • Restoration or renovation of buildings of historical or architectural importance or those used for religious worship.

 

Viridor Credits is looking for further projects to fund located within 10 miles of active Viridor-managed landfill sites or ERFs. Applicants can visit www.viridor-credits.co.uk, call 01823 476476, or email enquiries@viridor-credits.co.uk.

Viridor Credits Environmental Company is an environmental body and independent charity.

 

The Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) is an innovative tax credit scheme enabling Landfill Operators (LOs) to contribute money to organisations enrolled with ENTRUST as Environmental Bodies (EBs). EBs use this funding for a wide range of community and environmental projects in the vicinity of landfill sites. LOs are able to claim a credit against their landfill tax liability for 90% of the contributions they make.

Since its inception in 1996, over £1.3 billion has been spent on more than 51,000 projects across the UK. For further information, please visit www.entrust.org.uk or see HMRC’s general guide to Landfill Tax.

 

The Dixon Foundation is a UK-based charity that backs bold initiatives working to help people and our natural world flourish together.

We are curious, collaborative and driven by a deep sense of urgency to regenerate our planet. We work by setting challenges to some of the toughest issues faced within our thematic areas of interest, and fund impact-driven organisations that rise to our challenges with radical, scalable and sustainable solutions.

Please see more details at www.thedixonfoundation.org.uk/

 

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