Development updates

It’s a sign! Sharphill Wood campaigners delighted as house builder steps in to point the way

- 26 Sep 18

Nature lovers visiting an historic wildlife site in Nottingham now have a clear sense of direction after volunteers installed thousands of pounds worth of signage gifted by a national housebuilder.

Bovis Homes has invested £3,000 in the signage for Sharphill Wood, which is the closest patch of countryside to the city centre.

The donation covers two signs placed at the north and south entrances of the woodland, which is next to the housebuilder’s new Edwalton location.

David Laight of Bovis Homes; Bill Logan, of the Friends of Sharphill Wood; and Duane Booth and Luke Vernon from signage company Eco Signs, met at the nature reserve, to place the signs.

Bill, secretary of the Friends of Sharphill Wood, said: “This is a terrific investment and we are extremely grateful to Bovis Homes for the signage.

“We work very hard to maintain this beautiful nature reserve, the only woodland in the area, and we welcome the support of Bovis Homes and our many volunteers - we’re always on the look out for more!”

David, associate design and planning director at Bovis Homes, said the financial support was an example of the house builder’s positive relationship with the Friends of Sharphill Wood and with the local community as a whole.

“Sharphill Wood is an historic woodland area, which is very important to residents and an attraction for tourists and visitors to the city,” he said.

“There is a fantastic array of wildlife here and Bovis Homes wants to maintain this nature reserve, through its partnership with the Friends of Sharphill Wood, not only for our residents at Edwalton Fields, but for the whole of Nottingham.

“These signs will help navigate walkers and they provide important information about the history and geography of the woods. It is an investment that Bovis Homes hopes will have a big impact on the local community.”

The housebuilder is helping to protect the woodland, a 23-acre Site of Importance to Nature Conservation (SINC), which is owned by Rushcliffe Borough Council and managed by Nottingham Wildlife Trust. There is a public right of way and three footpaths that run through the nature reserve.

The woodland is dominated by ash, beech, oak, common lime, sycamore and wych elm trees, with bluebells and a variety of birds, mammals, insects and fungi.

The Friends of Sharphill Wood was formed in 2008 and has more than 30 volunteers to raise money and implement a management plan to maintain the nature reserve.