Archive for category: News

Further work has been carried out on the Firs Rd footpath from the field gate towards the A30.

The hedge has been trimmed and the path scraped back to the hardcore base to provide more grip and better drainage in wet weather. The useable width is now 3 times wider than before.

The photograph (click to show full image) shows the widened path and its original width in the background by the road signs. The last short remaining section to the A30 will be completed in the next few weeks.

This species of butterfly has declined significantly with less than 20 recorded sites left in southern England. It is a high priority for conservation. The butterfly lays its eggs on cowslip and primrose plants.

The Firsdown Conversation Group with the help of a local nature reserve, has obtained a quantity of wild primrose plants that will be transplanted to the wooded area at the top of Firs Rd with the aim to increase the habitat suitable for the Duke of Burgundy butterfly.

A number of local youth events and activities are planned in nearby villages over the Easter school holidays. Details are here.

The Chairman of the Parish Council has cleared the footpath from 99 Firs Rd to the field gate, of overgrowing grass and soil along the edge of the path. The useable width of the path is now greatly increased, the surface has also been scraped back to the hardcore base to provide more grip and better drainage in wet weather.

The hedge at the edge of this section of the path had already been cut back at the end of last year.

In the next few weeks, the section of the path from the field gate to the A30 will be similarly treated and the hedge cut back.

If any residents would like to assist, then please get in touch with the Parish Council.

The RSPB provided an update on the Roundbarrow Nature reserve at a public meeting last November. The RSPB are contracted by Wiltshire Council to manage the reserve, and a 5 year habitat plan is being developed. To provide structural diversity, grazing by sheep will be used to control the ragwort and thistles, whilst limited cattle grazing will turn the ground for annual plants to establish and the manure will benefit beetles and birds. To reduce the level of nutrients in the soil, a crop of barley was sown during the spring of 2025. Nutrient levels need to be depleted before the sowing of wild flower seeds that are native to chalk downland can take place.

The wild flower seed that will be sown has been harvested from the RSPB reserve at Winterbourne Downs near Newton Tony. 23 acres were sown early in 2025 in the field by Badgers Belt. Last autumn a further 7 acres were sown in the field to the left of the start of the permissive path from the Byway in Firsdown – see photograph for this article. The field will be cut in early summer to control invasive grasses and thistles. Wild flower meadows typically take about 5 years to mature. When nutrient levels fall in the fields elsewhere in the reserve, additional fields will be sown with wild flower seed.

During the summer of 2025, stone curlews were spotted on the reserve. This species is rare and the birds were almost certainly visitors from the established colonies at Porton Down or Winterbourne Downs.

Although the reserve will not be open to the public – apart from the permissive path – there are plans to set up a steering group that will involve local residents. There will be guided walks and volunteers are sought for work parties and flora and fauna surveys.