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Greenbelt is managing the 7-hectare nature reserve beside the 650 homes near the Gosport foreshore.

Badgers are building their own 'housing estate' on a nature reserve managed by Greenbelt alongside new homes at Priddy's Hard, Gosport, Hampshire.

The company is working closely with conservation and volunteer groups to clear bracken and overgrowth and improve 'living conditions' for the badgers and other wildlife. Local residents are taking a keen interest in watching their 'neighbours' and providing food to supplement their diet.

Priddy's Hard was formerly part of a Royal Naval Armament Depot and the badgers are building their setts in the high earth embankments that were built as blast walls.

The reserve also includes a wild flower meadow, water meadow and salt marsh that are important habitats for butterflies, protected species such as lizards and slowworms, and scarce plants such as the Golden Samphire. The meadow is also a feeding area for reed warblers and reed buntings, snipes, heron and little egrets, and the shoreline is a wintering area for migratory birds, such as great crested grebe, Brent geese and black-tailed godwits.
A public footpath allows local people to visit the area, without disturbing the wildlife. Highland cattle used for conservation grazing in winter are a popular attraction.

Ranger and Site Warden Pat Clipstone says: "Priddy's Hard is a regional important site for wildlife and a little bit of countryside for people in nearby towns.

"Greenbelt is successfully managing the difficult balance between conservation and public enjoyment. Already, many new species of flora and fauna are colonising the reserve."
Alongside local residents, the population of Priddy's Hard includes:

• 166 plant species
• 82 different bird species
• 26 types of butterfly