Freeman's Marsh is a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

 in the civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Hungerford

Hungerford

Hungerford is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, 9 miles west of Newbury. It covers an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 5,559 .- Geography :...

 in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

.

Located at , the site consists of unimproved meadows, marsh and reedbed. It is an important site for overwintering, migratory and breeding birds and supports many varieties of flora which are scarce in Southern England. It is located in the floodplain

Floodplain

A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...

 of the River Dun, a small tributary of the River Kennet

River Kennet

The Kennet is a river in the south of England, and a tributary of the River Thames. The lower reaches of the river are navigable to river craft and are known as the Kennet Navigation, which, together with the Avon Navigation, the Kennet and Avon Canal and the Thames, links the cities of Bristol...

 and is bordered by the Kennet and Avon Canal

Kennet and Avon Canal

The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is commonly used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section...

. It was cited by English Nature

English Nature

English Nature was the United Kingdom government agency that promoted the conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006...

 in 1986, and also forms part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

North Wessex Downs AONB

The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire...

.

There are plans to construct a marina and hotel complex adjacent to the site, but the potential environmental impacts (particularly to water voles) of such a development on Freeman's Marsh have led to local opposition.

Further reading

• English Heritage's Hungerford Common project (which involves areas of Freeman's Marsh)
• Will of William Vokin's bequeathing his leasehold estate on Freeman's Marsh