RSPB Essex wetland reserve opening postponed

The opening of a new nature wetland reserve in Essex has been postponed because work has been hampered by the bad weather.

Contractors have had to leave the RSPB site at Bower's Marsh, Pitsea, because the continuing wet weather has left the land unworkable.

The 270 hectare area was due to open in the spring but this has now been put back to the end of the year.

When it is finished, the reserve will include a lagoon and nature trails.

Dave Hedges, RSPB manager for the area, said: "The wet weather has made the conditions on site very muddy.

"In some places, it's two or three feet deep and unfortunately we cannot move machinery around the site."

Bowers Marsh is next to Veolia Environmental Services' reclaimed landfill site and will form part of the 9.3 sq mile (15 sq km) "green lung" of south Essex marshes.

It is hoped the site will attract wading birds and provide habitats for water voles and other wildlife.