![Havannah Nature Reserve (geograph 2150939)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Havannah_Nature_Reserve_%28geograph_2150939%29.jpg)
Havannah Nature Reserve lies to the west of the village of
Hazlerigg
Hazlerigg (often misspelled Hazelrigg) is a village and civil parish north of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England. It is about north of the city centre, on the A1. It is split between Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tynesi ...
, approximately five miles north of the centre of
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
in the north of England. It was declared a nature reserve in 1998 and is designated a Site of Local Conservation Interest. A
wildlife corridor
A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...
runs through the site.
Owned by
Newcastle City Council
Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...
and managed by Urban Green Newcastle, it is often referred to as Havannah and Three Hills Nature Reserve, so called after the drift mine and the
slag heap
A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quan ...
s, which were located at the site when Hazlerigg Colliery was operational, from 1892 to 1964.
Location
The site is an oblong area roughly east-west and north-south, with Hazlerigg forming the east boundary; Main Road the western boundary between it and the eastern extent of
Newcastle Airport; and Coach Lane the northern boundary. A triangular extension of the site descends south to a point on the boundary with the former
Sage Group
The Sage Group plc, commonly known as Sage, is a British multinational enterprise software company based in North Tyneside, England. As of 2017, it is the UK's second largest technology company, the world's third-largest supplier of enterpri ...
campus.
Ecology
It is one of only two areas of lowland heath in Newcastle. Much of the landscape is a result of the site's industrial past, and many of the wet areas result from subsidence associated with mining activity. There is great biodiversity within the site, which has around 40 hectares of habitat including woodlands, meadows, scrub, grazed fields, marshland and ponds. Several smaller ponds have been added in recent years, and the hydrology of the site has changed much due to subsidence associated with mining activity. The diverse range of habitat provides for populations of plants and animals of local, regional and national importance.
The woodland consists of broadleaf and coniferous trees. An abundance of coniferous trees provides habitat for
red squirrels, which are breeding successfully in the reserve. A section of land has been fenced off at the top of the Three Hills part of the reserve, to keep dogs and people separate from the squirrels' breeding area. The wooden fencing was flattened in several places by fallen trees that had been blown over by
Storm Arwen
Storm Arwen was a powerful extratropical cyclone that was part of the 2021–22 European windstorm season. It affected the United Kingdom, Ireland and France, bringing strong winds and snow. Storm Arwen caused at least three fatalities and wide ...
in November 2021. Newcastle is one of the last urban areas with a population of red squirrels, and Havannah Nature Reserve is one of only three places within the city area that supports them. The red squirrel is a legally protected species and is covered by Schedules 5 and 6 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.
The other two sites that provide red squirrel habitat in Newcastle are
Woolsington Woods and
Gosforth Park
Gosforth Park is a park north of Gosforth in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It houses Newcastle Racecourse, Virgin Money Unity Arena, a Britannia hotel, two golf courses, a garden centre and a football centre. It is also home to Go ...
Nature Reserve. In 2011, housing developer
Bellway Homes
Bellway plc is a residential property developer and housebuilder based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
The company was founded in 1946 by ...
submitted a planning application to North Tyneside Council for proposed development adjacent to Gosforth Park Nature Reserve, approximately 2 miles southeast of Havannah Nature Reserve. The local group Save Gosforth Wildlife campaigned against the plans, which did not go ahead and as a result there is a local precedent for concerns about housing developments adjacent to red squirrel habitat. In 2014, a planning application was submitted for a housing development at Woolsington, which would have involve felling over 1,000 mature trees in Woolsington Woods, approximately 3 miles west of Havannah Nature Reserve.
Havannah Nature Reserve also provides habitat for the
Dingy Skipper butterfly, which is covered under section 41 (England) of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (2006) and on the UK list of Priority Habitats and Species. The ponds and ditches provide habitat for breeding populations of
great crested newt
The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to ...
, which is a European protected species.
Yellowhammer
The yellowhammer (''Emberiza citrinella'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family that is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia. Most European birds remain in the breeding range year-round, but the eastern ...
birds, a species on the UK red list of Birds of Conservation Concern, can be seen and heard in the bushes and hedgerows around the scrubland within the reserve.
Development proposal
In 2015, the Banks Property Group developer submitted a planning application for permission to build up to 500 houses directly opposite Havannah Nature Reserve. Local wildlife conservation groups objected to the plans, including the
Northumberland Wildlife Trust
Northumberland Wildlife Trust was established in 1971 (following a split from the ''Northumberland & Durham Trust'', established 1962) to help conserve and protect the wildlife of Northumberland, Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside in the UK ...
, the
Natural History Society of Northumbria
The Natural History Society of Northumbria (NHSN) is a voluntary organization to promote the study of natural history and protect the wildlife of North East England.
Its offices and library are in the Great North Museum: Hancock, whose buildin ...
and the campaign groups Save Gosforth Wildlife and Save Newcastle Wildlife.
From 2018, a large housing development was built directly north of Havannah on the other side of Coach Lane, called Havannah Park.
References
*https://urbangreennewcastle.org/find-your-park/havannah-and-three-hills-nature-reserve
*http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/h022.htm
*http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=0&N=&ID=597
*https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/planning-and-buildings/trees-landscape-and-wildlife/wildlife-and-biodiversity#red
*http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/69
*http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/16/contents
*http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-5717
*http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-1769
*http://www.nwt.org.uk
*http://www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk
{{coord, 55.04035, N, 1.65398, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
Nature reserves in Tyne and Wear