New £30k wild bird sanctuary for Staffordshire

A new £30,000 wild bird sanctuary will be built in the heart of Staffordshire creating new jobs, under fresh plans unveiled today.

The Owl Experience has been planned for land on Jolt Lane in Haughton near Stafford and those behind the scheme hope it can become a tourist attraction for the county.

Andrew Campbell, a 40-year-old former soldier, hopes the new centre will be created by autumn if planning permission is granted.

The new tourist attraction would be set on a 19-acre site and have a wide-range of birds – including owls, hawks, kestrels, and falcons – on display acr-oss at least 20 timber aviary buildings.

The Owl Experience will also have a neighbouring bird of prey rescue centre for sick or abandoned animals, which Mr Campbell, who lives in Stafford, says the public will also be able to visit. He said: "The whole thing would be open six days a week."

Mr Campbell, a former army sergeant who spent 15 years in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, says the site will initially create around 10 jobs.

The plans have been submitted to Stafford Borough Council and if the centre gets the thumbs up from the local authority, Mr Campbell says he would like to see work start in August or September. He bought an owl when he left the Army five years ago which fuelled his interest in birds of prey.

He is hoping to get Stafford-based firms to sponsor some of the aviaries. The Owl Experience would be based at Red Lion Farm which already has an ice cream factory and shop on site.