Volunteers who help manage Henllys Local Nature Reserve in Cwmbran were recently surprised when Torfaen Council installed a barbed wire fence across one of the fields in the popular attraction.
Cwmbran Life was alerted to the new fence in the orchard area of the site by a reader on 4 September. The site is used by walkers, families and people exercising their dogs.
The installation of the fence took regular users of the site by surprise and led to over 50 comments on a post on the group’s Facebook page.
The Friends of Henllys Local Nature Reserve (LNR) are a voluntary group whose “aims are to enhance the LNR for the benefits of wildlife and users.” They say that in a typical year, their volunteers contribute over 1,000 hours of their time to the reserve.
Peter Friswell, the secretary of the Friends Of Henllys Local Nature Reserve, told Cwmbran Life that the “big issue” over the new fence was “no consultation” with the group.
He said it wasn’t up to them to say “yes or no” to the fence but consultation would have been a chance to “address concerns” and explain why it was needed.
‘Grazing animals’
A Torfaen Council spokesperson said: “The council put up the fence as part of the Local Nature Reserve Management Plan, which involves using grazing animals to help with conservation. These animals need to be kept in an enclosed area. However, after the Local Nature Reserve Friends group raised concerns about the barbed wire, the council removed it last Friday.”
Mr Friswell said that Henllys Community Council helped find out what had happened and Cllr Fiona Cross was “superb”, liaising with council officers and members of the public to quickly address everyone’s concerns.
He added: “It’s about doing things with the community, not to the community. We’re a group of volunteers that help the local authority with nature and people. All we say is consult with us and tell us what’s happening.”
Where is Henllys Local Nature Reserve?
The yellow dots mark out the various entrances and exits for Henllys Local Nature Reserve.