Roundbarrow Farm to be transformed into nature reserve

Roundbarrow Farm, located between Firsdown and Pitton, east of Salisbury, will be transformed into a chalk downland nature reserve as part of a new partnership between Wiltshire Council and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

The farm will be converted from its previous use as an intensive dairy farm into a site for chalk grassland wildlife.

This is a long-term project that will take several years to complete.

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Roundbarrow Farm. (Image: RSPB) The aim is to reduce soil fertility before sowing new flower-rich chalk grasslands.

The project will contribute to nature recovery and help Wiltshire Council achieve its goals to improve green and blue infrastructure and long-term climate resilience.

The initiative will also improve water quality in the River Test catchment and internationally protected habitats in the Solent estuary by removing previous sources of nutrient pollutants, such as cattle manure.

The council has leased the site to the RSPB, which was selected as the successful partner following a competitive bidding process in 2023.

The RSPB has experience in undertaking similar projects, having established a nature reserve at nearby Winterbourne Downs.

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The farm will be converted from its previous use as an intensive dairy farm into a site for chalk grassland wildlife. (Image: Patrick Cashman) Cllr Dominic Muns, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for environment and waste, said: "Roundbarrow Farm has an exciting journey ahead as a site that will benefit local communities and nature – both locally and further down the River Test and Solent catchment.

"We’re pleased to be working with the world-renowned RSPB on this project, and we share a common ambition and shared vision to allow an exemplar chalk grassland to establish."

Patrick Cashman, RSPB site manager for the Wiltshire nature reserves, said: "This is a rare opportunity to create a new downland nature reserve from scratch at the former Roundbarrow Farm.

"We now can begin the process to create flower-rich chalk grassland at scale, which over the next 10 years will begin to attract and support a cornucopia of chalk loving blooms, bees, butterflies and birds."

The primary objective for the Roundbarrow site is for nature to thrive undisturbed, while grazing will be maintained at a lower intensity than previously to help maintain the grassland.

There will be opportunities for the public to attend special open days each year, and work has commenced to create a new permissive bridleway that is due to open in May, and will connect the villages of Pitton and Firsdown for the first time.