Construction is set to begin next month on a £1.5m nature reserve on the edge of Hungerford, transforming roughly 16 hectares (40 acres) of poor-quality, unmanaged meadowland into a new wetland habitat. The Kennet Valley Wetland Reserve will be built at Undy's Meadow, close to the River Kennet on the town's northern edge, and is being delivered by the Town and Manor of Hungerford, the charity best known for organising the town's Tutti Day celebrations.
Kate Edwards, from the charity, described the scheme as a chance to create somewhere people can enjoy quiet contact with nature.
It's going to be a proper nature reserve; it will be somewhere you can go and sit quietly.
The focus is the wildlife and we're going to be privileged enough hopefully to sit on the benches, walk the paths and see and hear the willow warblers and the grasshopper warblers. Hopefully lots of wetland birds will come in and use the area.
She added that residents have thrown their weight behind the project, calling the level of local backing "the most incredible support."
What will the finished reserve look like?
West Berkshire Council has now granted full planning consent for the wetland landscape and access works, along with outline permission for an Education and Information Centre, according to the Town and Manor of Hungerford. Plans include an informal circular walking route and a step-free, access-for-all path with boardwalks, together with road and pedestrian access from Charnham Park Road, the charity says. Once complete, the site is intended to be open free to the public during daylight hours throughout the year, and the council has awarded a £100,000 Community Infrastructure Levy grant to help fund public access infrastructure and the planned education centre.
Why can work only happen between September and December?
Construction has to be carried out in this narrow window because work cannot start before September, to avoid disturbing nesting birds, and cannot continue past December, when the ground becomes too waterlogged. The first phase, covering landscaping, paths and boardwalks, is expected to be finished by next summer.
How does this fit into wider efforts to restore wetlands?
The charity describes the scheme as the restoration of around 40 acres of former water meadows in the Kennet Valley, a process that involved more than twenty consultant reports and public consultation before the planning application was submitted, according to the Town and Manor of Hungerford. The project aims to reconnect the River Kennet with its historic floodplain, creating new wetland habitat while helping to reduce flooding further down the valley, the charity has said in a newsletter. West Berkshire Council has separately noted that the site, previously known as Undys Meadow and now renamed the Kennet Valley Wetland Reserve, still requires the charity to raise more than a million pounds to complete the work. The Town and Manor says it manages 423 acres of land around Hungerford in total, including several sites of special scientific interest, of which this wetland reserve forms part.
Similar restoration work is under way elsewhere in the region. Avon Wildlife Trust, for example, has bought a former dairy farm near Wick St Lawrence with a £5m grant to convert the land into wetlands, as reported in our earlier coverage of the North Somerset wildlife reserve project.
What happens next?
The Town and Manor of Hungerford says the wetland reserve will take roughly two years to complete once construction gets under way, with the initial phase concentrating on the wetland landscape and public access routes. A charity filing from 2025 listed West Berkshire Council, Natural England, the Environment Agency, North Wessex Downs National Landscape, Hungerford Town Council and ARK among the bodies supporting the project. Ahead of construction, a local parish council notice said members of the public were able to tour the reserve site on 6 July 2026, reflecting ongoing community engagement around the scheme.
Key Facts
- The £1.5m Kennet Valley Wetland Reserve covers about 16 hectares (40 acres) at Undy's Meadow, Hungerford.
- Work must take place between September and December due to nesting birds and wet ground conditions.
- West Berkshire Council has granted full planning consent plus outline permission for an education centre and awarded a £100,000 infrastructure grant.
- The project is expected to take about two years to complete, with initial paths and boardwalks ready by next summer.
- The charity says over a million pounds still needs to be raised to finish the scheme.
