New Hall Valley Country Park
Encyclopedia
Country park
A country park is an area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.-History:In the United Kingdom the term 'Country Park' has a special meaning. There are over 400 Country Parks in England alone . Most Country Parks were designated in the 1970s, under the...
located in New Hall Valley
New Hall Valley
New Hall Valley lies between Walmley and Maney in the Sutton Coldfield area to the north of Birmingham.In 2005, much of the valley was designated part of the New Hall Valley Country Park. The Plants Brook stream runs through the valley, and consequently it contains a substantial amount of wetland...
between Walmley
Walmley
Walmley is an area of Sutton Coldfield, England. It is in south Sutton Coldfield, near to Minworth, Wylde Green, Erdington and south of Thimble End. It is approximately northeast of Birmingham city centre...
and Wylde Green
Wylde Green
Wylde Green is a residential area within the town of Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham, England in the West Midlands. It was in the county of Warwickshire. The area is in the Sutton Vesey ward.-History:...
in the Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...
area of north Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. It is the first new country park in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for over a decade. The park is split into "phases".
It was created in 2005 by Birmingham City Council with funding raised from the release of land for the New Hall Manor Estate
New Hall Manor Estate
The New Hall Manor Estate is the younger of the two major housing estates named after New Hall Manor in Walmley, West Midlands. The other estate is the New Hall Estate. It was built around 2000 and half was built by one company and the other half by another. This caused one half to be called "The...
development and formally opened on August 29, 2005.
The park covers over 160 acres (0.6 km²) of designated green belt
Green belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an...
land to the south east of Sutton Park
Sutton Park
Sutton Park, in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England, is one of the largest urban parks in Europe and the largest outside a capital city; it is larger than Richmond Park in London....
, including ancient woodland
Ancient woodland
Ancient woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England and Wales . Before those dates, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally...
, historic wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
grazing meadows, former farmland, and part of Plants Brook
Plants Brook
Plants Brook is a stream in Erdington and Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England.-Course of the stream:...
. It borders on a number of privately owned listed buildings including the 17th century Grade II listed New Hall Mill (website), a corn mill. This is one of only two working water mills surviving in Birmingham water mills in Birmingham, with the other being Sarehole Mill
Sarehole Mill
Sarehole Mill is a Grade II listed water mill on the River Cole in Hall Green, Birmingham, England. It is now run as a museum by the Birmingham City Council. It is one of only two working water mills in Birmingham, with the other being New Hall Mill in Walmley, Sutton Coldfield.Built in 1542 on...
in Hall Green
Hall Green
Not to be confused with Hall Green, Wolverhampton or Hall Green, SandwellHall Green is an area and ward in south Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...
. It has been restored and is open to the public on certain days or by prior arrangement. Bishop Walsh Catholic School
Bishop Walsh Catholic School
Bishop Walsh Catholic School is a secondary school located in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham in the West Midlands of England.-Introduction:Bishop Walsh Catholic School is a Performing Arts College, Mathematics and Computing College and Sixth Form centre...
borders the land, with the school's playing fields running adjacent for nearly 1.5 miles.
The park also includes a network of cycle routes and footpath
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
s (Map), a plant nursery, a nature conservation site and two play areas for children.
The park is crossed by Wylde Green Road, which links Walmley and Wylde Green at either end. This road was crossed by a ford
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
until around 1967.
Coppers Wood, the ancient woodland
Ancient woodland
Ancient woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England and Wales . Before those dates, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally...
in the park, is under threat of being destroyed due to concerns that its trees, which are Crack Willow
Crack Willow
Salix fragilis is a species of willow native to Europe and western Asia, usually growing beside rivers.It is a medium-sized to large deciduous tree, which grows rapidly to 10–20 m tall, with a trunk up to 1 m diameter and an irregular, often leaning crown. The bark is grey-brown, coarsely...
, may fall onto people using the paths that have been driven through them.