The Wildlife Trust, as part of an on-going partnership project seeking to manage suitable areas of grassland at Cross Hands for their biodiversity value, has held discussions with the Co-operative supermarket regarding the potential management of an area of grassland outside the store for greater wildlife/conservation benefit.

At present all the grassland around the Co-op store is mown regularly during the summer season. In many areas, potential changes to management are subject to limitations of health and safety (visibility issues for road users and fire risk around the petrol station) and other considerations relating to the fact that the store retails food.

However there is one strip of grassland for which alternative management could be considered.

No complete survey has been done of the grasslands around Co-op, because it has been mown regularly. Other areas of grassland in the Cross Hands retail park are, known to be good sites for orchids and even the uncommon whorled caraway has been found, but little is known about the Co-op grassland, although orchids are known to grow there.

Therefore a full survey of the grassland in summer 2010 will be undertaken to establish a baseline for the wildlife value of the existing grassland. The Co-op kindly agreed to stop cutting this grassland from to allow survey of the strip in the early summer next year.

If the grassland is found to be diverse already and containing species of interest then changes to the cutting regime may be advantageous such as reduced cutting frequency in the early summer, with late cut(s) and removal of the mowings after seeds have set, to encourage flowering plants rather than competitive grasses.

If however, the grassland area is found to be of limited value then diversity of the habitat could be improved by introducing wildflower seed. Ideally this would be done by bringing in seed from a local source (possible even diverse areas immediately adjacent to the Co-op), with the aim of increasing the range of flowering plants present.

Signs will be produced to inform customers at the Co-op of the nature and reason for the changes in management and to raise public awareness of the importance of this grassland habitat.