Beechwood Park, North Halifax

The aptly-named Beechwood Park is a former army camp (demolished 1974) in the Illingworth and Ovenden wards of north Halifax and provides a large greenspace between two areas of multiple deprivation (recognised Nationally) plagued with anti-social behaviour. By popular request it was designated a local nature reserve under the ‘wildspace’ programme (Natural England) complete with a recently formed ‘Friends of …’ group. Through abandonment, the 11.4 hectare informal ‘park’ area now provides habitat for a large number of species. With housing and schools on all sides, this is truly a wildlife oasis in the midst of urban sprawl.