A project to bring wildlife and people together on Teesside has reached a milestone. Work is already under way to create the Saltholme International Nature Reserve, a 1,000-acre area of wetland off the A178 near Port Clarence. Once complete, it is hoped the site, which sits beneath the industrial skyline of Teesside, will raise the ecological profile of the area. It is expected to become a major tourist attraction, bringing more than £1m to the local economy each year. English Partnerships formally handed over the land to the Teesside Environmental Trust at a ceremony yesterday. This opens the way for the Trust, in partnership with the RSPB, to start major works on the reserve site. The next two years will see a bird discovery centre, car park and visitor centre taking shape. To mark the handover, Glenn Sutton from English Partnerships presented David Kitchen of the Teesside Environmental Trust with a piece of specially commissioned glass. "We can now really get stuck into the job of creating one of the most exciting and unusual regeneration projects in the North-east," said Mr Kitchen. "We have already carried out a lot of work to create new pools and reed beds and have started to see birds such as terns, herons and short-eared owls." Kevin Bayes, of the RSPB, which is responsible for managing the site, said rare birds were already arriving. "It is hoped the reserve will see some new species which don't breed on Teesside," he said. "These include the bittern, whose numbers are down to about 40 individuals in the whole of the country, and the marsh harrier." Also at for the handover was John Huntington, chief executive of waste business Augean Plc. The Yorkshire-based company announced a donation of £194,000 through its landfill tax credit scheme. Outline planning permission has been granted for the reserve and further applications for the centre and an access road are to be submitted to Stockton Council in the near future. | 
