Dear all,

The City of Wolverhampton Council, the Canal and River Trust and Walsall Council are working together to establish a new Local Nature Reserve (LNR) covering the Wyrley and Essington Canal.

The attached plan shows the area of land to be covered by the proposed LNR within Wolverhampton – the whole LNR will cover a 16 mile canal corridor stretching from Wolverhampton City Centre to Brownhills in Walsall, plus adjoining Council-owned land.  This corridor is already designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and the LNR designation will promote greater use of the site by local people and visitors whilst protecting and improving wildlife and habitats.

Attached to this email are plans illustrating current proposals for an ERDF funding bid which will deliver much of the work needed to establish and improve the LNR in Wolverhampton.  Public consultation on the proposals is currently underway and needs to be completed by the end of July, when the final bid will be submitted.

Therefore, I would be grateful if you could respond to me with any comments on the proposals by Tuesday 19^th July at the latest.

There will be wider public consultation on the Draft Management Plan for the whole LNR over the summer.  I will contact you again with further information when this is available.

Thanks very much for your help,