Brockholes before Newlands
Spanning 166 hectares in total, Brockholes sat next to the M6 motorway near Preston.
Before Brockholes received any investment, it was a working gravel quarry. Alongside this the site was made up of wetland, woodland, grass and marshland areas. It was the perfect habitat for a range of bird and animal life including Lapwings, Kingfishers and Whimbrels. In fact, bird watchers had been regular visitors to Brockholes since the 1990's.
When quarrying ended, Brockholes was put up for sale. Lancashire Wildlife Trust campaigned to raise funds to purchase the site. Working in partnership with the NWDA (the regional development agency) and the Forestry Commission (through the Newlands programme), as well as other funders and a large number of Lancashire Wildlife Trust members, the trust bought the site at the end of 2006.
What Newlands did at Brockhurst
The plan was to turn Brockholes into a flagship visitor attraction, which would unite people and nature and preserve Brockholes valuable natural assets into the future.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, the partners held a design competition with RIBA to find an architect for the iconic visitor centre.
Visions were drawn up for Brockholes and the planning process commenced. The desire was to re-define what it means to be a nature reserve, by being lively, accessible and fun whilst preserving the site's biodiversity and maintaining the very highest environmental standards.
In late 2008, the Newlands partnership confirmed that a further £8million of regional development agency funding had been granted to the Brockholes project. This investment made it possible to turn the site into one of the region's most popular natural visitor attractions.
- The vision for Brockholes was to re-define what it means to be a nature reserve, by being lively, accessible and fun whilst preserving the site's biodiversity and maintaining the very highest environmental standards.
Brockholes today
Brockholes opened to the public in April 2011 and is now a thriving natural visitor attraction. The site is a mosaic of habitats brought to life with family friendly hides, accessible paths and boardwalks and engaging interpretation.
Designed by Adam Khan architects, the visitor centre is an unusual and eye catching structure that sits at water level, giving people a chance to get close to nature.
The centre also houses meeting and education facilities, as well as a shop, restaurant and interpretation displays to help visitors to understand and appreciate their surroundings.
Brockholes is also an important part of Lancashire Wildlife Trust's work - promoting the role of the trust and encouraging visitors and local communities alike to engage with their local environment.
- Brockholes is a mosaic of habitats, brought to life with family friendly hides, accessible paths and boardwalks and engaging interpretation.
