Visitor centre plan for iconic nature reserve

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is developing plans for a new centre near to Spurn National Nature Reserve, a wildlife-rich area incorporating Spurn Point, a crooked finger of sand that reaches out from the Holderness coast across the mouth of the River Humber.

The project will enable the Trust to better cater for the needs of visitors to the area and at the same time ensure the fragility of the wildlife and local environment is better conserved, it said.

A number of locations for the centre are being considered, with the current favourite being on land owned by the Trust between Kilnsea village and the entrance to the reserve. The location has views over the Humber Gateway Offshore Wind Farm, currently under construction by E.ON, but would be mostly hidden from the village of Kilnsea.

The scrub and grassland habitats found here would be enhanced to provide better areas for wildlife than found here currently.

Chief executive of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Dr Rob Stoneman, said: “The Trust is designing the building to use the first floor for the main activities allowing the ground floor to cope with flooding from time to time.

“Our key aim as a Wildlife Trust is to enhance habitats for wildlife benefit, so we are naturally excited about how we can do this for the benefit of both wildlife and people.

“We have already established a constructive dialogue with Natural England, the Environment Agency, RNLI, Associated British Ports, local councillors and the Spurn Bird Observatory Trust as part of this process.”

Funding for the project comes from E.ON’s £2m community fund.

Operations manager Jon Beresford said the project would benefit the community and enhance “an outstanding area whilst not compromising its natural beauty”.