Town Lane before Newlands

Situated on one of the main traffic routes in and out of Southport, Merseyside, Town Lane was a former landfill site.

Town Lane was a prominent feature on the landscape.  It's gentle dome shape (formed through the land filling process) was visible across the surrounding areas including a number of residential communities, Southport Commerce Park and a hospital development.  The site was also made up of areas of grassland and several degraded and un-managed areas.

What Newlands did at Town Lane

- Significant works were carried out on site, including the planting of 12,000 trees and shrubs

The Town Lane site was transformed into a community woodland as part of Newlands.  Significant works were carried out on site, including the planting of 12,000 trees and shrubs on newly imported sand and soil.

Cycle routes, pathways and bridges were also created to make movement into and around the site easier.  A mountain bike skills course was also built to encourage visitors to use the site to keep fit.

A new viewing point at Town Lane's highest point gave visitors the chance to take in the views across Southport and the West Pennine Moors.

In the midst of all the work, Town Lane's delicate eco-system was protected and even enhanced as new habitat areas were created to encourage biodiversity.

Town Lane today

- The development of a new community woodland has improved the environment for local residents

Now managed by the Forestry Commission, the development of a new community woodland at Town Lane improved the environment for local residents and helped to attract further investment to Southport Commerce Park.  It's also a useful resource for the nearby Southport General Hospital, with the site being used for rehabilitation purposes, as well as a green and pleasant setting for the Hospital to look out over.