Broad Meadow (owned by TBC)

Broad Meadow was originally designated a Site of Biological Importance (SBI) in 1979 and remains so to the present day.

Highlights

• This island between the River Tame and the flood relief channel is an ideal habitat for herons, skylarks, terns and lapwings

• The site of a colony of rare snake’s head fritillary flowers, recent management has enabled the fritillaries to flourish providing a spectacular display!
  

The site is known to support an example of a floodplain grassland type which is now considered rare in both Staffordshire and the United Kingdom.   Due to increasing scarcity, the grassland type (known as Lowland Meadow) is included on the United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) and the Staffordshire Biodiversity Action Plan (SBAP).

One of the key botanical species that is found at Broad Meadow is Snake’s Head Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris). Snake’s Head Fritillary is very rare in Staffordshire and is native to only two sites in the county: Broad Meadow and Mottey Meadows SSSI, near Wheaton Aston.

The major factor, which requires addressing at Broad Meadow, is the lack of appropriate conservation management.

This management effort has really paid off and Tamworth has been treated to a great show of almost 200 snake's head fritillaries this year, which is a beautiful sight!

Natural England’s Higher-Level Stewardship (HLS) Scheme provides the best possible option for sustainable, conservation management to be introduced to the whole of the site; but to do so, the site must be in the ownership of Tamworth Borough Council. A ten-year HLS on Broad Meadow will arrest the current decline in habitat quality and enable additional elements such as community involvement and educational use to commence.

The site also supports a significant Otter population, has the potential to support a range of bird species and will play a role in dealing with climatic change through the opportunity to store flood water.

For more information about Broad Meadow please contact the “Wild about Tamworth” Project Officer Lindsey Bates on 01827 59912 or 07970 067711.