TALKS are taking place for the town council to possibly take on a dormouse woodland at the new Jurston Farm housing development in Wellington.

Developer C. G. Fry has been in talks with Wellington Town Council about the authority taking ownership of a 0.6 hectare dormouse woodland which will border the A36.

Town clerk Kathryn Hemensley said: “The land is currently being planted. Careful consideration needs to be given to not only the potential benefits of owning this parcel of land but also the liabilities such as staff resources, habitat management and dealing with fly-tipping.”

Councillors had mixed views about the matter but agreed that further talks needed to take place before any decisions were made.

Cllr John Thorne said: “I think we should take this on – it is an opportunity for us to take something on and manage it.” Cllr Vivienne Stock-Williams added: “I think it is an exciting project. We could create a Friends Group with the knowledge and enthusiasm for this project, and we could make it a lovely place for the town.”

But Cllr Janet Lloyd warned: “We need to think carefully about how we would manage this.”

And Cllr Andrew Govier said: “I was a bit sceptical about this and I don’t think we can give a definitive answer on this at the moment.

“We don’t want to be taking on responsibility for something which the developer should be taking on.

“But C.G. Fry have spoken to us at every level. Although we haven’t wanted the development, they have spoken with us. We should continue negotiations.”