The fields may not look much to the motorists who drive past them in their thousands every day.

But in fact the pastureland between Hull and Cottingham is a botanist’s dream.

The land, which has never been ploughed, drained, reseeded, or treated with artificial fertilizers or herbicides, supports a rich mix of native grasses and wildflowers.

The UK has lost roughly 97% of its species-rich and unimproved grasslands over the last century due to agricultural intensification, making such surviving patches critical refuges.

Priory Meadows divides Hull from Cottingham and are a rare unimproved wet grassland ecosystem that survived urban expansion and despite lack of management still support a rich variety of plants including orchids. Pictured Tim Conway from Priory Meadows Community Interest Company. Picture Jonathan Gawthorpe 15th October 2026

placeholder image — Priory Meadows divides Hull from Cottingham and are a rare unimproved wet grassland ecosystem that survived urban expansion and despite lack of management still support a rich variety of plants including orchids. Pictured Tim Conway from Priory Meadows Community Interest Company. Picture Jonathan Gawthorpe 15th October 2026

Priory Meadows have become overgrown with trees, scrub and brambles in recent years. But now they have a much brighter future after a group of enthusiasts formed a community interest company and owner Hull Council agreed to grant a long-term lease.

The CIC aims to manage the fields in a more eco-friendly way, clearing encroaching scrub and making an annual hay cut to stop aggressive grasses from outcompeting delicate wildflowers, and allowing plants to drop their seed.

Rohan Lewis, the Vice-County Recorder for South East Yorkshire, visited Priory Meadows in the summer.

He was astounded "not only by the colours – the purple of the Knapweed, the blue of Devil’s-Bit, the yellows of Cinquefoil and Meadow Buttercup – but also by the presence of plants like Meadow-Rue, Pepper-Saxifrage and Betony, whose nearest sites otherwise are mostly in the floodplain of the River Derwent."

Pictured Tim Conway from Priory Meadows Community Interest Company with Devil's-bit scabious Picture Jonathan Gawthorpe 15th October 2026

Tim Conway from Priory Meadows CIC says their plans to improve the grasslands should help protect them from developers in future as well as seeing some species – like the rare green-winged orchid - make a return.

The fields were considered as a site of scientific interest back in the 1990s and he hopes they will in time make the grade.

As well as Priory Meadows, the CIC is taking the lease for Garrowby Orchard, which is also owned by Hull Council, and and was due to be developed for a veteran's village.

Veterans charity Hull4Heroes last year shelved plans to build 48 homes for veterans and their families, citing spiralling costs and changes in operational priorities.

The plans had been opposed by locals who had wanted the land to remain as a community greenspace.

Tim said: "Priory Meadows should be the crown jewel for nature conservation projects in the Hull Valley.

"Garrowby Orchard is a 10-acre community greenspace and acts as a flood defence. We plan to manage the alder which is overgrowing the ditches and improve it as a habitat for dragonflies and damselflies. We hope the rarer plant species and orchids eventually make a home there. On Priory Meadows there's another 20 to 25 acres, so for nature conservation it is massive.

"It is also next to Snuffmill Fields, which is also designated local wildlife site. Because they all connect up you have this really big block of greenfield, which will hopefully protect and make the Hull-Cottingham boundary one of the prime are nature conservation interest in the whole of the East Riding.”