Staff at Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, which owns the nature reserve, spent considerable time last November clearing spent fireworks from Tiddesley Wood and have noticed an increase in other anti-social behaviour this year. To help protect the site, the car park will close at 3pm on Thursday 5th November and will reopen at 9am on Monday 9th November.
Rob Allen, reserves team leader for the Trust, explained “Tiddesley Wood is a really important sanctuary for wildlife and we’re asking everyone to help us keep it that way.
“Over the last few years, we’ve seen an increase in anti-social behaviour. We’re working with the police to try and combat this and closing the car park is one step on this journey.
“It isn’t appropriate to let off fireworks in or next to the woodland just like it isn’t appropriate to ride a motorbike through Tiddesley Wood. Yet these are just some of the issues that our teams are dealing with here and elsewhere on a regular basis.
“Thousands of people opposed plans to build houses next to Tiddesley Wood because the development threatened the wildlife here but we’re dealing with regular threats to the same wildlife every day.
“We allow free use of the car park so that people can access and enjoy nature but if we continue to see anti-social behaviour we will close it more regularly. So we’re asking anyone who sees anti-social behaviour taking place to report it to the police and to us so that we can protect the woodland and retain access to the car park for visitors who wish to enjoy nature.”
Tiddesley Wood sits on the northern edge of Pershore was once owned by Pershore Abbey. Until 1985 it was managed as a commercial forestry plantation by the Forestry Commission but the semi-natural ancient woodland has since been restored by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust. The nature reserve also includes a meadow and orchard.
Rob added “We’re sorry for any inconvenience that this closure causes for regular visitors who simply want to take a walk through the woodland. Hopefully this short closure will help others to understand that abusing these kinds of places is unacceptable.”