GRANVILLE

The extraordinary thing about the building of Telford New Town was that the development plan incorporated a green network of hedgerows, canals, meadows, canal fringes and other open spaces that were retained, so that wildlife and people could co-exist. It was an achievement that won international recognition, pioneering the way forward for other new towns.

Granville is one of the largest and most wild-life diverse of these places, much valued by local people for its recreational opportunities. The spirit of renewal is tangible here. Nature has reclaimed this place after centuries of industrial activity, which finally ceased when Granville, the last deep mine in the county, closed down.

Relics of former industrial activity, including furnaces and an old winding house, are now surrounded by woodland full of birds, while pit mounds of waste have been transformed into flower-rich grassland and heath. An abundance of bird's-foot trefoil now feeds generation after generation of caterpillars of Telford's speciality butterflies, the dingy skipper and green hairstreak.

Orchids, ox-eye daisy, cowslips and yellow rattle, rarely seen now in agricultural fields, have miraculously appeared in what was, in the not-so-distant past, a grim and uninviting landscape. Small though these hills may be, their tops provide good viewpoints over the surrounding countryside and town.

Now, however, the idealistic vision that gave Telford its feeling of space and greenness is under assault from a new wave of development pressures. Continuous nibbling at the edges, as more houses and industrial buildings appear, is reducing the area of wild space; something which will affect not only wildlife, but the quality of life of its human inhabitants. Granville and the rest of the green network deserves to be vigorously defended.

Granville is a Local Nature Reserve, owned by Telford & Wrekin Council and managed by Shropshire Wildlife Trust. Mostly easy walking; steep pit mounds can be avoided. Further information and maps in the reserve leaflet, available from the Trust.