Kingfisher Country Park

Kingfisher Country Park is a country park situated in East Birmingham and the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in England, straddling the historic border of Warwickshire and Worcestershire, mostly within the former. Initially designated as Project Kingfisher by Birmingham City Council, the park was formally declared a country park in July 2004. The country park is located along an 11 km stretch of the River Cole from Small Heath in Birmingham to Chelmsley Wood at the M6 motorway. It is a Local Nature Reserve. Project Kingfisher The overall aim of the project was to preserve and care for the River Cole valley. The project was inaugurated in 1985. Funding Both the Birmingham City Council and the Solihull MBC sponsored the project in a joint venture. Charities and organisations that funded the project were: English Nature The Environment Agency Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country Geography The country park has an area of around and crosses the border between Birmingham and the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull. Within the original project, and now surrounding the country park, are several local nature reserves. These include Yorks Wood which was declared a local nature reserve by Solihull MBC in the 1990s after purchasing it in the 1980s. Other nature reserves include Babbs Mill Lake and Alcott Wood. Cole Bank, Smiths Wood, Elmdon Nature Park and Elmdon Coppice are proposed local nature reserves.