Young and old in Bradford on Avon are backing plans to rewild the town’s former nine-hole golf course.

They are calling for the 44-acre site – which fronts the River Avon - to be allowed to flourish as a wildlife habitat.

Youngsters from Fitzmaurice Primary School and St Laurence School staged a mini-demonstration outside Bradford on Avon Town Council’s annual gathering on Tuesday, May 28.

They waved placards and chanted as more than 100 residents entered St Margaret’s Hall for the meeting.

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Wiltshire Times: Children staged a demonstration to support the rewilding of Bradford on Avon's old golf course at

Among the group were Arlo, nine, and Lena, six, from Trowbridge Road in Bradford on Avon.

Their mum, Nadia Canale, said: “It is very close to our house and nature’s homes is something they feel very passionate about.

“It is a place that we used quite a lot during lockdown and they have grown to love. They don’t want houses there.

“They go up there to play with their friends.”

During the gathering, the town council screened a 12-minute film The Rewild Project, made by White Space Films.

Chris Alexander, who directed and produced the £3,000 film, says they plan to use it to lobby for the privately-owned golf course to be left undeveloped.

The conservation group that commissioned the film hope to persuade Wiltshire Council to take it off the Local Plan reserve list for housing development.

Wiltshire Times: One of the pathways through the former Bradford on Avon golf course which conservationists want to keep as a wildlife habitat.One of the pathways through the former Bradford on Avon golf course which conservationists want to keep as a wildlife habitat. (Image: White Space Films)

The site is earmarked for housing even though it is possibly contaminated by toxic waste after once being used as the town’s tip.

The Rewild Project is spearheaded by Joanna Pierce and Ellie Lacey and is supported by residents and the town council.

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They say the site is a now “vibrant oasis” teeming with 190 plant species and scores of wildlife including bats, badgers, beavers, stoats, otters, foxes, birds, bees and other insects.

“As a collective of creatives based in Bradford on Avon, we are on a mission to protect this ecological haven from the threats of development, which have been looming over the land for years.

“Our goal is clear: to create an unstoppable force that safeguards this natural paradise, ensuring its beauty and biodiversity are maintained.”

Wiltshire Times: Campaigners commissioned a short film to help save Bradford on Avon's old golf course from becoming a housing development site. Campaigners commissioned a short film to help save Bradford on Avon's old golf course from becoming a housing development site. (Image: Eleanor Lacey)

The film featured shots of the landscape, as well as interviews with residents, including Kate Nottage, award-winning wildlife photographer Chris Wardell, ecologists Dr Ben Aldiss and David Green, mayor Cllr Jack Vittles and Cllr Alison Potter.

Kate Nottage said: “I do recognise the need for housing but if you have your housing at the expense of nature you are going to have housing that is extremely unhealthy.”

Cllr Potter said: “There are other places where we could build which would not entail the loss of such biodiversity and I think that Wiltshire Council should take that very seriously.”

Wiltshire Times: The panelists for a Q&A session about The Rewild Project at Bradford on Avon Town Council's annual town gathering.The panelists for a Q&A session about The Rewild Project at Bradford on Avon Town Council's annual town gathering. (Image: Chris Alexander)

Site owner John Hussey, who lives at Heywood near Westbury, hopes to sell the site for housing development.

He tried to gain planning permission for 190 homes in 2008 but later withdrew his application following strong objections.

Residents were told he wants £4 million for the land – far more than they or the town council can afford to pay.

Bradford on Avon needs to find space to build 80 more homes before 2038 and is exploring its options.

Residents hope the site can be removed from the reserve list in the review of Wiltshire’s Local Plan but that seems unlikely at present.

A petition to remove the site from the reserve list for Wiltshire’s draft Local Plan in November 2022 gained more than 2,000 signatures.

Cllr Vittles said that if the site is not removed, the town council will explore all options, including raising funds to pay for legal and ecological advice.