Belmont Pastures is a 1.3 hectare
Local Nature Reserve and
Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II, in
Belmont in the
London Borough of Sutton
The London Borough of Sutton () is a London borough in south-west London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It borders the London Borough of Croydon to ...
. It is owned by Sutton Council and managed by the council together with Sutton Nature Conservation Volunteers.
The site is a long narrow triangle north of
Belmont railway station. It is an old meadow which formerly belonged to Belmont Hospital. The meadow is unimproved chalk grassland with common grasses and wild flowers, including
common vetch
''Vicia sativa'', known as the common vetch, garden vetch, tare or simply vetch, is a nitrogen-fixing leguminous plant in the family Fabaceae. It is likely native to North Africa, Western Asia and Europe, but is now naturalized in temperate and ...
,
bladder campion
''Silene vulgaris'', the bladder campion or maidenstears, is a plant species of the genus ''Silene'' of the family ''Caryophyllaceae''. It is native to Europe, where in some parts it is eaten, but is also widespread in North America, where it i ...
and
common knapweed
''Centaurea nigra'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names lesser knapweed, common knapweed and black knapweed. A local vernacular name is hardheads.
It is native to Europe but it is known on other ...
. It provides a good habitat for invertebrates such as butterflies, grasshoppers and crickets. On the eastern side there is a hawthorn hedge next to the railway line, while the western edge is lined by an avenue of large trees, mainly horse chestnut.
There is access from Sevenoaks Close.[
]
References
{{Authority control
Local nature reserves in Greater London
Nature reserves in the London Borough of Sutton