Wet Grassland / Wildflower Meadows

Today, only 2% of the wildflower meadows that existed in the 1930s remain. It means the country has lost nearly 7.5 million acres of wildflower meadow – and these precious resources continue to be destroyed. Worryingly, of those that do survive, about 75% occur in small fragments, making them vulnerable to destruction.

As a lowland county with significant river valleys, Worcestershire is home to a significant proportion of the country’s lowland wildflower meadows, as well as extensive extant and remnant wet grassland meadows, which support many important – including rare and declining – species.

It is estimated that about 40% of the UK’s wet grassland was lost between the 1930s and the 1980s, and Worcestershire’s remaining wet grasslands are fragmented and are considered to be very vulnerable to deterioration and loss.

The county’s Biodiversity Action Plan states that wet grassland should form a component of Green Infrastructure plans. To help meet this ambition, the Worcester 6 site will protect fully and will commit to the ongoing, long-term positive management of the 0.8 hectares of wet grassland meadows that form a central component of the site’s ‘green spine’.