Herefordshire Wildlife Trust has announced plans to sell Merrivale Wood, a 4.5-hectare site near Ross-on-Wye, citing the need to focus its limited resources on larger, higher-priority nature reserves.
The trust, which manages nearly 60 sites across the county, said maintaining smaller reserves like Merrivale Wood had become too costly. The sale is part of a wider review aimed at directing funds “towards conservation and nature recovery priorities.”
Local residents Jess and Jody Shaw have launched a GoFundMe campaign to keep the woodland open for community use, hoping to raise £90,000 to purchase the site. As of this week, the effort has raised just over £1,100.
Estate agents Sutherlands, who are managing the sale, confirmed that the site would be delisted as a local nature reserve, with public access limited to an existing footpath.
The trust said it hoped to find a buyer willing to maintain Merrivale Wood as a nature reserve and added that it was open to reviewing any community ownership proposals.
Town councillor Daniel Lister, supporting the campaign, said: “It’s ambitious, I know, but wouldn’t it be great to get it into community ownership and keep the woodland open for everyone? Under a private sale, they could stop the public walking through it. That would be devastating.”
Merrivale Wood has been described by Sutherlands as “hugely popular with residents” and offering “a fantastic opportunity to make the woodland a special visitor attraction.”
