VILLAGERS have put down roots for a new community woodland which the Forestry Commission is creating on the outskirts of Leigh.

Residents from Glazebury joined Forestry Commission rangers to plant the first new trees on the 47-hectare site at Windy Bank Farm.

The site straddles the borders of both The Mersey and Red Rose Forest Forests. Until now, there has only been limited public access to the site from the Glazebrook Timberland Trail, which runs through a corner of the land, and via the public footpath which runs along the access track to Windy Bank Farm.

When complete, the woodland will provide an excellent community facility with a number of natural features including the Bedford Mosses, which are designated as a site of special scientific interest, and several well-established ponds.

Funding for Windy Bank Farm development is from a £9 million grant from the Government's Capital Modernisation Fund (CMF).

Part of this grant is being used to create recreation and conservation facilities across 1,000 hectares of urban fringe land in The Mersey and Red Rose Forests in the North West of England and Thames Chase Forest in the South.

The Northwest Development Agency is also supporting this project by making £2.8 million available so the partnership can extend its initiative and provide an additional 212 hectares of community woodland in

the Mersey Belt.

Martin Reynolds, land regeneration manager for the NWDA, said: "Schemes such as those at Windy Bank will provide attractive, well managed, places for people to use and enjoy.

"By investing in networks of regional park resources close to urban areas where environmental quality is limited, the Agency intends to improve the image of districts to the benefit of local businesses and communities."