Cresswell Pond Alcan handover
Cresswell Ponds, photo Duncan Hutt
Rio Tinto Alcan has passed the freehold of Cresswell Pond to the Wildlife Trust Charity for £1.00. Cresswell Pond has been part of the Alcan Farms since 1973 and is a wildlife haven for otters and breeding birds and its saline lagoon is a nationally recognised site of specific scientific interest.
In 2011, two avocet chicks hatched their way into Northumberland’s record books on the site, by being the UK’s most northerly pair of breeding avocets.
The Trust will discuss the management of the site with Crown Estates on how the land can be best managed to protect wildlife while, at the same time, continuing to offer visitors the opportunity to enjoy one of Northumberland’s hidden gems.
Duncan Hutt, Head of Land Management at the Trust said: “We have managed the site alongside Alcan Farms for many years now, so it is wonderful that, when the land was being sold off, the Company recognised our involvement and knowledge of the site, not to mention its environmental importance, and handed it over to us.”
