A NEW National Nature Reserve encompassing Ilkley Moor will encourage people in inner city areas to visit the green spaces on their doorstep, bosses at Natural England hope.
On Tuesday, a swathe of green space in the district was officially designated as the Bradford Pennine Gateway – the first National Nature Reserve in West Yorkshire.
It includes the landscapes that inspired the Bronte Sisters, and Ilkley Moor.
The designation will give the green areas extra protection and more focused management, as well as raise their profile nationally and internationally.
But at an event in Saltaire on Tuesday, Natural England bosses said the new designation could also encourage more people living in Bradford’s densely populated urban areas to access spaces they previously “didn’t feel belonged to them".
The new nature reserve includes eight areas across the Bradford district:
- Ilkley Moor
- Penistone Country Park in Haworth
- Shipley Glen
- Trench Meadows
- Baildon Moor
- St Ives Estate
- Harden Moor
- Bingley North Bog
It will be the seventh in the King’s series of nature reserves, set up to mark King Charles’ Coronation.
The Bradford Pennine Gateway reserve spans 1,274 hectares.
Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England, said the new designation would help to better manage and protect these eight areas of the district.
He said achieving the designation took a lot of hard work, adding: “This is not a simple process. It required ambition, vision and determination.
“These sites are nationally important – it is the only land use designation where the primary purpose is nature conservation and nature recovery.
“As well as protecting nature, it will have a huge benefit for the people of Bradford to have access to these landscapes for their physical health and psychological wellbeing.”
He said the inclusion of parts of Haworth that inspired the Bronte Sisters meant the nature reserve would get international recognition.
Marian Spain, CEO of Natural England, told those in attendance she had not visited Bradford until she came to the district to launch a nature recovery project two years ago.
She said: “The thing that struck me is that the hills seem so close to the city that you can almost reach out and touch them.
“But so many people in the city don’t reach out to these spaces, physically and metaphorically. They don’t think the hills are for them.
“We hope this will create a better connection between the people of Bradford and the nature around them.
“It is bringing together world-famous places like Haworth and Ilkley Moor with local gems like Shipley Glen.”
The designation meant these areas were now “some of the best places for nature in England".
