Saving Broken Bridges - a race against time
Inside Salisbury: The campaign to save 34 acres of land for people and for nature
By Annette J Beveridge
Time is running out to save the much-loved site known as Broken Bridges.
Thousands of pounds have already been raised or pledged to save the land at Fitzgerald Farm (known as Broken Bridges) but more is needed to protect and restore it as a community nature reserve.
The land first came onto the market in 2008 and at that point, a group of people came together to try to raise the funds to buy it. The sale did not go through due to its valuation being higher than the city council’s valuation, but a set amount of money (£75,000) was ringfenced towards the purchase.
Councillor Jeremy Nettle said: “It is 34 acres of land and is the land north of the house [not included in the sale] down to the Nadder which overlooks the industrial area and stretches back to Netherhampton Road.
“There is 23.5 acres of pasture, 9.5 acres of scrub and an acre of river (Nadder) so it is an ideal area to purchase.”
The meadow is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and habitat including floodplain meadows, chalk streams, wood pasture, and rare Carr woodland.
Carr woodlands are wet woodlands. This type of woodland dates back some 12,000 years and there is often a variety of structures, willows, birches, and alder, nettles, ferns, yellow flag and meadowsweet.
Cllr Nettle said: “People tell me that having the SSSI protects it. But I worry that you can never say never. We have seen what has happened at Netherhampton Road which is a floodplain.”
The land at Broken Bridges is important for nature. It contains rare botanical plants, kingfishers and otters. It was once a thriving habitat for nature but needs to be protected and restored.
It is also important for people and would become a community reserve, a place to relax, enjoy, and connect with the natural world.
Cllr Nettle said: “We checked with Wiltshire Council that the £75,000 money was earmarked. This gave us a kick-start. We are in the process of raising the rest of the money and have had valuations done and been in discussion with the land agent.
“The public has been great. £30,000 was raised which is being matched by an individual and a company has also offered £20,000.”
At the council meeting on Monday, November 4, Salisbury City Council will decide whether to use some of the community infrastructure levy and whether a percentage of this money will go towards the campaign. If yes, it will provide an additional £50,000.
Cllr Nettle said: “A lot of [nature] organisations are really excited about it but they want you to own the land first. It’s been a bit of a vicious circle, so we looked at community ownership and submitted a business case. We got our initial application approved and that was going forward and then there was the general election. All of these government bodies just stopped.”
Several surveys have been done on the land and the findings include:
Early marsh orchid
Common meadowrue
Both these plants appear to be a subspecies not recorded previously in South Wiltshire.
Yellow loosestrife - not rare but with a limited distribution
Tubular Water-dropwort is on England’s red list and needs sensitive management
Cllr Nettle added: “Nature is very good at making sure certain things happen. We need a specialist person to advise us and will look at community groups to help us.
“We need to up our game. We are keen to make sure that the seller knows that we can pay. We don’t want somebody to gazump us because that will upset us and all the people that have donated.“
The site was awarded an asset of community value which initially afforded six months to raise the necessary funds but this has passed now and it is a race against time to raise the last funds.
To donate to the campaign to protect this area, click here.
