Natural England awarded £4million National Lottery grant to protect vital habitats

Many people fondly remember childhood beach holidays, clambering enthusiastically over wind-blown sand dunes.

That was until dunes were fenced off across the country, which experts now warn has destroyed the habitats of endangered species.

Sand dunes are being choked by thick grass and invasive plants, launching a move for families to be allowed to run over them again.

This would help to expose bare sand and crevices which small animals rely on. The dunes are the main home for 70 priority animal species, including the natterjack toad and sand lizard.

At risk: Sand dunes are being choked by thick grass and invasive plants, launching a move for families to be allowed to run over them again

Natural England is leading a project to return movement to sand dunes so that they are no longer ‘sterile, grassy hillocks’, which has just received £4 million of National Lottery funding (SUBS – PLS KEEP).

This will help to conserve nearly 7,000 hectares of dunes, which have declined by a third in the UK since 1900 and by almost two-thirds in Wales. It will also improve access to the dunes, in a bid to reinvigorate the natural habitats.

Marian Spain, interim chief executive of Natural England, said: ‘Sand dunes are some of our most precious landscapes, providing a home for a treasure chest of wildflowers and other species. Sadly they are also the most at-risk habitat in Europe.

‘People can now enjoy a habitat they have long been encouraged to keep off. We know now that walking and playing on dunes can help create bare sand and crevices for the special wildlife that lives here to colonise.

‘That’s why we’ll be inviting more people to become citizen scientists and discover the fantastic heritage at the top of the beach.’

For decades, beach management has involved building fences around dunes in a bid to reduce trampling, and planting thick vegetation like sea buckthorn on them.

This vegetation stops the vast mounds of sand from shifting so is used to keep them stable. But conservationists say dunes are naturally mobile and need to be moving to be effective habitats.

The invasive plants also smother dunes in a thicket of scrub, crowding out other plants and small animals.

Natural England is leading a project to return movement to sand dunes so that they are no longer ‘sterile, grassy hillocks’, which has just received £4 million of National Lottery funding

Natural England has teamed up with the National Trust, Plantlife, The Wildlife Trusts and Natural Resources Wales to create more ‘dynamic’ sand dune landscapes.

Measures will include bringing in natural rabbit grazing, removing invasive species and creating dune ‘slacks’ or depressions which can be flooded. Dunes have long been important as a natural flood defence.

The four-year scheme will improve access for the public, concentrating on nine dune landscapes in areas including North Cornwall, Cumbria and Dorset.

Nicola Hutchinson, from wildlife charity Plantlife, said: ‘This project will radically revitalise our ailing dunes and the wealth of wildflowers they harbour.

‘Re-injecting real dynamism into dunes will revitalise wild plants which may appear rooted to the spot but are always on the move and benefit from shifting sands.’ Stephanie Hilborne chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said: ‘We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to experience the joy of the sand dunes around our coasts.

‘This programme will mean that thousands of people from all walks of life have that chance and gives that opportunity to future generations.’