Land will be fenced off for grazing

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has given the green light for the five-acre stretch of land separate to Wolvercote Common to be cordoned off for grazing.

The scheme, which also has the backing of English Nature, will start soon.

Peter Adams, chairman of the commoners' committee, said: "The reason the green is in such a poor condition is that it has not been grazed on for 30 years.

"We have tried managing the land by manually cutting it, which is expensive and it has not truly worked, so we have to have an alternative to manage the land. English Nature has recommended grazing it and to do that the land has to be fenced off.

"There will be four gates so it will be open to all and there will be no restrictions to anyone. There are one or two people who face on to the green who object, but the majority of the village have voted at least four times in favour of the scheme."

English Nature has given Wolvercote Commoners' Committee £1,000 towards the cost of fencing.

Wolvercote Green is designated a site of special scientific interest and is separated from Wolvercote Common by the railway line and Oxford Canal.

Alternatives to traditional fencing included electric fences, but these were rejected by city councillors at area committee meetings.

Liberal Democrat Wolvercote councillor and leader of Oxford City Council, John Goddard, said many villagers had hoped to see cattle grids laid, rather than post and rail fencing installed.

He added: "We know the state of the land is not what it needs to be and it's not been adequately looked after, so there was no doubt something needed to be done, it's just been a question of how to do it.

"There has been some division of opinion among residents about how best to do it. Some residents, particularly those who live near the green, were against fencing, because it will make what has been unrestricted open land look like a fenced-off field, which it is not."