A COMMUNITY group is working with Darlington Council to find ways of attracting more bees to the borough.

The recently formed group is adopting the national Bee Cause campaign launched by Friends of the Earth to protect British bees and preserve their habitats.

Council officers, park Friends and nature reserve representatives were among residents who met with Darlington Friends of the Earth members at the first meeting to discuss ways of helping bees in the borough.

One outcome has been the launch of a wildflower planting programme within the 50 acres of designated meadowland in Darlington.

The scheme has started on land off Fitzwilliam Drive, by Cocker Beck in Baydale and off Wylam Avenue which is now being cleared by council workers to make way for the planting.

Rob George, the council’s head of parks and countryside, is hopeful that the programme will eventually create between 25 to 35 acres of wildflower meadow in the borough.

He said: “We are planting about two to three acres of wildflower mix as a pilot study this year just to see how that will take.

“We can’t plant it everywhere because it is very expensive and doesn’t like highly nutrient rich soil, so some places just aren’t suitable.

“But we will see how the first areas take and then we expect to continue a wildflower programme for the next seven to eight years, planting small areas at a time.”

Other suggestions made by the Bee Cause group include using bee-friendly flowers in public displays and leaving more open areas free to grow naturally.

Mr George said the council would consider these ideas, but added that a balance needs to be met when it comes to maintaining open green spaces.

He said: “We are now leaving certain grass areas to be cut once a year, but it is one of those things where what makes one group happy, will not be liked by the other.

“We can continue to leave longer grass in more areas, which is better for the bees, but the more areas you leave like this, the more upset the other group will become.

“The balance has rather been in favour of the manicured short grass kind of approach, but what we can do in urban areas to help the Bee Cause is now better understood.”

The Darlington Bee Cause group is set to meet again on June 11 at The Forum on Borough Road.