WYRE Forest's only remaining medieval common will be restored as a thriving heathland for wildlife as a major project gets under way next month.

The work at Pound Green Common, due to start in February, will see contractors restore parts of the area to a more open landscape by removing some trees, gorse and bracken to allow sunlight to reach the floor.

Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, which owns the site, says the work will enable heather and other acid-loving plants to thrive.

In other areas of the common, trees will be thinned in order to restore wood pasture habitats where scattered trees are interspersed with diverse grassland.

Kidderminster Shuttle: Volunteers have already made a start by removing saplings. Photo by Andy HarrisVolunteers have already made a start by removing saplings. Photo by Andy Harris

Further work to remove trees from a wet flush will return the area to a haven for reptiles and insects, while removal of trees from around a pool will allow light back into the pool, enabling to thrive with aquatic life once more.

Where possible, the trust plans to retain older trees and those with character, however the spread of ash dieback across the county means that a portion of ash trees, including a few larger trees, will be removed - especially where they are situated near paths.

Andy Harris, the trust’s officer responsible for the management of Pound Green Common, said: “Pound Green Common is a wonderful place for wildlife and is known to many locals as the place where 1920s naturalist Edgar Chance undertook pioneering research into the lives of cuckoos.

“If you look at that footage from the 1920s, you can see just how much this precious place has changed.

"Heathlands have been managed by humans for centuries and the wildlife has evolved to thrive under this management.

"Sadly, many heathlands have been lost through poor management and the wildlife has gone too.

"We know that removing trees isn’t always popular but this is essential if we’re to secure the future of one of Worcestershire’s rarest habitats, heathlands."

Pound Green Common is part of the extensive Wyre Forest Site of Special Scientific Interest and is a mosaic of heathland, wet flushes and acid grassland with patches of gorse, bracken and scrub.

The Common has been under-grazed in the past, which has led to a decline in heathland plants and an increase in the number of young trees, bracken and scrub. Grazing animals remove coarser grasses and young saplings, which help to keep the landscape open in nature.

In the 1920s, Edgar Chance organised several filming sessions in order to show how cuckoos were able to lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. In the case of Pound Green Common this was in the nests of meadow pipits.

Both meadow pipits and cuckoo numbers have declined significantly and, whilst the reasons for this decline are more complex than a reduction of suitable habitat at Pound Green Common, it is hoped that its restoration will see the return of both species of bird.

Andy added: “We have a team of volunteers who undertake routine maintenance but they’ve unfortunately not been able to get through as much work over the last 12 months because of the Covid-19 situation.

"This work will be a real boost to their work and to the ongoing restoration of this special place.”

The project is being funded by Severn Trent's Boost for Biodiversity grant scheme - its largest ever commitment to improve and enhance 5,000 hectares of biodiversity across the region.