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 30 August 2008 04:23 BST

Largest UK wetland created in Essex

Tuesday, 04 Jul 2006 16:26
Largest UK wetland created in Essex

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The UK's largest man-made wetland was created today at Wallasea Island in Essex.

By breaching the sea wall in the area, the 115 hectare wetland will provide habitats lost to birds during the 1990s.

As part of the wetland, the project has created seven artificial islands, saline lagoons, new public footpaths and four kilometres of sea wall.

As well as benefiting birds, the wetland will also serve to improve flood defences and to create better fish nurseries and recreation opportunities.

According to biodiversity minister Barry Gardiner, the £7.5 million project is one of the most significant wetlands creations in Europe and recreates the "ancient wetlands of East Anglia".

"Saltmarsh is more rare than rainforest, and is important to people, particularly as a flood and storm defence, and to wildlife. Hundreds of thousands of wetland birds rely entirely on the Essex saltmarsh for their food each winter," said Mr Gardiner.

Chris Durdin from the eastern England branch of the RSPB, one of the groups the government worked with on the project, said that the development had been "a long time coming", particularly as habitats were lost due to port development at Lappel and Felixstowe during the 1990s.

"We're very pleased it's happened at last – we're very confident that this will work very well," he said.

Birds expected to benefit from the new wetlands include oystercatchers, avocets and little terns, and because of the connection with the Crouch Estuary it will also be very important for windfaring birds such as dunlins, redshanks and brent geese.


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