Acquisition of Leaches Farm, Ludgershall, Buckinghamshire

To safeguard a 31 hectare Local Wildlife Site incorporating 25 hectares of rare species-rich meadows allowing its future improvement for wildlife in an area of existing high biodiversity value.

The site is in close proximity to other BBOWT sites within our 110 hectare Upper Ray Meadows Nature Reserve and has been identified as a priority for acquisition within BBOWT’s Upper Ray Living Landscape project. The site is dominated by nationally rare floodplain meadow habitat, is one of 23 Biodiversity Opportunity Areas defined by the Bucks & Milton Keynes Biodiversity Partnership and an HLS target area.

Many farms of a similar size in the area have ‘diversified’ into small business parks, leading to changes such as temporary car parks in grazing fields that have had a major impact on the wildlife and landscape of this once deeply rural area.