A COUNTRYSIDE haven within the city of Salisbury is to grow, following a decision made by the district council cabinet.
Cllr Dennis Brown, portfolio holder for environment and transport, raised the idea to expand the Avon Valley nature reserve at last week's cabinet meeting, in the hope that Salisbury could preserve more of its green space.
The plans coincided with the launch of the reserve's explanatory notice boards enabling people to find their way around the area more easily.
The expansion shows that the district council is moving nearer to meeting recommendations laid down by English Nature which state that there should be one hectare of "natural green space" per 1,000 people.
At present, the city has eight hectares of natural green space - which with Salisbury's population of nearly 40,000 is well below the recommended amount - but the expansion would bring the city's natural area up to 20 hectares.
The reserve extends along the River Avon towards the city centre from the leisure centre, including the River Avon corridor, Earth Bank, the Butts grassland and Willow Wood.
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