BLACK poplars, water voles and bats are to feature in a scheme to protect wildlife in the Darlington area.

Mr Rob George, Darlington Borough council's countryside and rights of way officer, announced the projects at a meeting of the town's environment forum on Thursday of last week.

The projects are part of the biodiversity action plan, a partnership which includes various councils in the region, as well as Durham wildlife trust, the Environment Agency, English Nature and Northumbrian Water.

Mr George told the meeting that the black poplar tree was very rare nationally and the Darlington borough was at the limit of its northern territory. Darlington had only 25 of the trees left.

He said the biodiversity project aimed to increase the number of black poplars to 500 over the next five years.

Conversely, urban areas were increasingly becoming the only places in which the once prolific water vole population could continue to survive. Darlington had, in fact, got healthy populations of water voles on many of its water courses, from the River Tees to small backwaters such as the becks at Cockerton, Baydale, Darchem and Drinkfield.

Mr George said: "The vole suffers from an image problem, with many people mistaking them for rats and the consequent association with dirt and disease. Initial contacts have been made to attempt a reversal of this situation in the Cockerton and Baydale beck areas and a full-scale project is being assembled at present."

He added that habitat improvement was planned for Cockerton Beck, as well as continuing improvements at the council's wildlife reserves at Brankin Moor and Drinkfield.

Efforts to protect and increase the bat population in Darlington include the introduction of bat boxes.

The bat population is in decline, with some species under particular threat, and Mr George said boxes would be made available to members of the public to hang at identified sites around the borough.

Anybody interested should contact Mr George on 01325 388648