REGENERATION PROJECT OPENS AT
BERRY HEAD NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE - 19 MARCH
A £1.8million project to regenerate Berry Head National Nature Reserve in South Devon culminates on Friday 19 March, with the opening of a spectacular new Visitor Centre and Café designed to change the way that visitors experience the site. The new Visitor Centre, originally a guardhouse in 1804, has been completely rejuvenated to include interpretation displays and an AV room showcasing a film about Berry Head's wonderful wildlife, geology and history. The front veranda has been reinstated to appear as it did 200 years ago, with original features included in the new design. A new café has been built as a modern extension to the rear of the Visitor Centre - with a copper roof, low-energy heating and spectacular far-reaching sea views. The building also features a viewing panel in the floor, where underground passages from the Napoleonic era can be seen.
Elsewhere on site, interpretation boards have been renewed, an audio trail created, a new bird hide built, the fort walls and other historic structures repaired. A bridge has also been constructed across one of the moats, toilets and other visitor facilities completely refurbished and the old visitor centre turned into an education space for use by schools, volunteers and trainees. The long-anticipated launch opens with speeches by Torbay Mayor Nick Bye and Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust Chairman Tim Key, followed by the ceremonial firing of muskets by soldiers from the Napoleonic Association. The new Berry Head Film will also be launched inside the Visitor Centre. Tim Key said: 'The Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust is proud to have been leading in this important and exciting project. The launch event on the 19th March will celebrate a spectacular achievement by the many partners and stakeholders, who have worked closely and effectively together. The project has also greatly benefited from the assistance and support of the two major funders, The Heritage Lottery Fund and The Department of Culture Media and Sport. The whole project has successfully worked towards the goal of safeguarding the future of this amazing but immensely fragile site." Berry Head is a National Nature Reserve managed by independent conservation charity Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust. The site is home to nationally rare plant and animal species; two well-preserved Napoleonic War-era Forts; important Second-World War heritage and is one of three English Riviera Geopark gateway Sites. Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust's ‘On the Edge' project aims to reverse the gradual decline of Berry Head so that future generations can continue to enjoy this unique site. Completed works over the last year have included: § Relocating the Visitor Centre to a refurbished location in the Northern Fort
§ Moving the Café into a modern extension to the rear of the Visitor Centre
§ Converting the Artillery Store into a Learning Centre
§ Converting the former Visitor Centre into an Education Base
§ Renewing interpretation across the site
§ Removing landscape eyesores and modern paraphernalia
§ Clearing invasive scrub that was choking the rare plants
§ Repairing the Forts and associated buildings
§ Installing a bridge across the moat into the Southern Fort to demonstrate how it originally functioned
§ Installing a traffic management system to prevent unauthorised vehicle access at the site, which caused erosion and disturbed the tranquility. The Trust's ongoing work at Berry Head will include:
§ Extending opportunities for people to engage with the site through volunteering, training and events
§ Making the site more accessible for people without a car
§ Promoting Berry Head more actively to the local community
§ Extending a conservation grazing scheme across the site, using a primitive breed of sheep. Nick Bye, the elected Mayor of Torbay said: "The opening of this regeneration project is a milestone in an immensely important three year journey to protect and enhance one of our most important natural assets. I couldn't be more thrilled to be attending the launch event in March and experiencing the culmination of so much hard work and vision. Being awarded the Sea Change money was a real coup for the Bay and it is exciting that this money has been put to such good use to protect the history, geology, ecology and beauty of Berry Head for future generations." Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust secured £1.8million funding from the Heritage Lottery and Sea Change, a Department of Culture Media and Sport programme managed by CABE, in order to make the On the Edge project happen and restore Berry Head for future generations. - Ends - Opportunity for photographs and filming of soldiers from the Napoleonic Association firing muskets from the ramparts - 12pm on Friday 19 March. Please contact Rachel Tapper on 01803 606035 or e-mail rachel.tapper@countryside-trust.org.uk to arrange an alternative time. - Notes to Editors - Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust are a local, independent charity dedicated to looking after some of Torbay's most important wildlife and heritage sites. The Trust's aims are to protect land, conserve nature and strengthen the bonds between the people and the natural world of Torbay. Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust manage 1750 acres of country parks, nature reserves, woodland, farmland and coastline in Torbay, including Berry Head National Nature Reserve, Cockington Country Park, Occombe Farm and the Seashore Centre as well as much of the English Riviera Geopark. The Trust is celebrating its tenth year this year (2000-2010). For more information please visit www.countryside-trust.org.uk What is Berry Head?
Berry Head is a limestone peninsula rising 200' (65m) from the sea, forming the southern arm of Tor Bay. It is a 100-acre National Nature Reserve, holding some nationally rare plant and animal species and as a result is part of the European-wide Natura 2000 network; it is also a Country Park that forms the main recreational area for the nearby town and port of Brixham (population 16,000). The site holds two well-preserved Napoleonic War-era Forts and important Second-World War heritage and lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and on the South West Coast Path. Why is Berry Head important?
The rare plants that grow on its thin, desiccated limestone soils form a community that is not found anywhere else in the UK. A colony of Greater Horseshoe bats lives in caves in the limestone, a species that is protected by international statute because of its rarity and the steep decline in its numbers across the UK. The colony of Guillemots breeding on the cliffs is the largest on the Channel coast and the most southerly in the UK. At the same time the Head is hugely popular with walkers, day-trippers, fishermen, rock-climbers, naturalists, historians and picnickers, making it one of Torbay's top ten most visited attractions. What is Berry Head ‘On the Edge'?
Berry Head ‘On the Edge' is a 3-year £1.8m programme designed to completely rejuvenate Berry Head's heritage and the way people experience it. The project started in October 2008 and building works began in February 2009. The broad-ranging programme will conserve the key heritage assets for the future, ensure that visitors have good access to the site and information about it, and involve the local community in its conservation and ongoing management.
The project is being funded by a grant of £850,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and one of £705,000 from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (Sea Change programme), with the balance consisting of in-kind and volunteer support. Why did we need to take action?
Berry Head has been protected as a nature reserve and Ancient Monument for many decades but recent research, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, showed that there is a long-term gradual decline in the condition of many of these assets. This was caused in part by the intensity of visitor pressures, and partly by natural processes. The research also found that most visitors do not appreciate how precious and vulnerable the site is, and this is compounding the problem. Concerted action was needed to ensure that the decline was reversed and future generations can continue to enjoy this superb heritage site.
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