| The award-winning
studies and reclamation work of 0ldknow School drew added attention to this
piece of wasteland. West Midlands County Council produced a scheme in 1977
for its reclamation in association with the making of the Small Heath
Bypass. Local councillors and community groups saw many educational and
amenity possibilities. In 1979, the Ackers Trust was established with
prominent Trustees, a Project Manager was appointed, and the Trust became a
registered charity in 1981. Its objectives were, and are, reclamation,
development and conservation, its purpose to create a complex of amenities
to benefit the whole community: education, recreation and participation are
the watchwords. The 19ha of land designated as The Ackers Leisure Park was
owned by the City Council, the Waterways Board, and British Rail. The County
Council has spent half a million pounds on development so far, and as much
again is required to complete present plans. 30,000m³ of bricks, rubble and
soil have been moved and smoothed to create the Ackers Hill on an existing
dump, the ski-slope and the motor-cycle circuit. Grass seeding and the
making of car-park, paths, steps and bridges have been followed by the
planting of 30,000 trees, some of them by local schools. The circuit, Trim
Trail and canal basin are in use: the former B.S.A. Club building of 1938
and later, is being altered for use as a centre for the Ackers Scheme.
Future activities will include boating, canoeing, camping, climbing,
picnicking and riding. [The Riverside Walk has been completed from the
Warwick to the Coventry Road]. There may be a direct link between the Park
and the Railway Museum. A dozen species of bird and a hundred-plus varieties
of meadow and bank plant already make the Park a naturalist's delight. A
pool to be made at the confluence and stocked with fish will attract aquatic
birds. As plantations grow, insects and small mammals will increasingly
share "the Ackers" with the human community.
Introduction
What can be seen from Ackers Hill
The natural landscape
Watercourses
Early settlement and boundaries
The Manors
The Warwick canal
Railways
Industry
Urbanisation
Parks and open spaces
Churches and schools
The Ackers leisure park
Itinerary
Maps |
