Saltholme Wildlife Reserve set to attract 100,000 visitors
Jan 22 2009 by Tony Henderson, The Journal
A WILDLIFE site which is set to become one of the biggest visitor attractions in the North East opened its doors for the first time yesterday.
A 10-year, £7m project has created the Saltholme wildlife reserve and discovery park from 1,000 acres of what was a derelict farm and old industrial land near the Tees estuary between Billingham and Seaton Carew.
The site is a magnet for birds, with around 10,000 currently in residence. In five years’ time, the RSPB and Teesside Environmental Trust, which together have developed the attraction, expect 100,000 people a year will visit the site.
Around 20,000 are expected to visit from the Tyne and Wear area.
“We are going to attract people from all over the region and we would like to think that people who are interested in wildlife will make the 40-minute trip from places like Tyneside to see something this special,” said project manager Kevin Bayes.
The site features a visitor, community and environmental education centre, café and shop designed by Newcastle architects Jane Darbyshire and David Kendall Ltd, lakes and ponds, a wildlife garden, extensive reed beds, country walks and adventure playground.
The site has the biggest visitor facilities ever built by the RSPB on one of its reserves.
“We have also reinvented the bird hide. No longer are they like gloomy potting sheds,” said Kevin.
The Wildlife Watch Point hide is a large, glass-fronted construction, while another is shaped like a doughnut to give all-round views. At this time of the year the site attracts thousands of waders and wildfowl, such as lapwing, golden plover, and wigeon, with warblers arriving in the spring and a large colony of breeding common terns.
More than 20 full-time and part-time posts have been created at Saltholme, which is expected to be worth £1m to the local economy.
Dave Braithwaite, site manager, said: “It’s taken years and years of hard work but now we can finally open the doors of the Saltholme centre and, while not everything is up and running, we are able to offer our first visitors the chance to see how we are already shaping up.
“It’s a time of huge emotion for everyone who has been involved. We’re excited, overwhelmed, proud, nervous and exhausted.
“We’re only at the very start of our journey to turn Saltholme into a world-class wildlife reserve.”
Saltholme will be officially opened in March.
One North East invested £2.4m through the Tees Valley Partnership, while the European Regional Development Fund contributed £1.4m.
Margaret Fay, chairman of One North East, said, “It’s great to see that our investment in Saltholme is coming to fruition.”
