VOLUNTEERS are celebrating after a rubbish tip in North Oxford they restored into a vibrant wildlife habitat was officially recognised by authorities.

The 5.6-acre Trap Grounds site – which lies between the railway line and the Oxford Canal – was given Town Green status in 2006, but was not recognised as a Local Wildlife Site.

Now Oxfordshire County Council and Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre have given the land the special status, giving it added protection under planning laws.

The records centre describes LWS’ as “essential in conserving wildlife in the UK and halting the loss of biodiversity”.

Work to transform the Trap Grounds over the last nine years has been led by volunteer group Friends of the Trap Grounds, which manages the site with Oxford City Council.

Group secretary Catherine Robinson said: “It’s hard to believe now that the Trap Grounds were used as a rubbish tip for many years. The place is full of life at all times of the year, and especially in springtime.

“Right now, swans are nesting, tadpoles hatching, and fledgling birds leaving their nests.”

The new status for the land is in addition to that already given to 2.9 acres of neighbouring reed beds, also designated an LWS.

It was granted because of the diversity habitats, described as “a mosaic of woodland, ponds, scrubland, and patches of reed bed”.

The designation also said it had communities of rare or exceptional species, particularly reptiles and amphibians.

It means it will join some 42,000 other sites across England.

The Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre said: “LWSs are protected from harmful development through the planning system.

“But as most sites are in private ownership, their long-term survival depends upon the interest and goodwill of their land managers and owners.”

Land at Trap Grounds was the subject of a long campaign when councils wanted to build social housing and a road across the site.

A bid by residents to register it as a protected town green went all the way to the House of Lords in 2006, when it was finally approved.

Volunteers have since installed features such as a wooden walkway footbridge and a bird hide using more than £20,000 of grant funding.

Rusting metal debris also had to be removed from the woodland.

Now volunteers offer public guided walks, as well as visits for school and university students.

Members of the public can also record wildlife sightings on a website, trap-grounds.org.uk