Hay Community Woodland Group has launched a crowdfunding web page to raise funds to help save the last remaining dry stone boundary wall in Hay-on-Wye.

The 130-metre-long Hay Warren Wall is being restored as part of a collaborative project between Hay Community Woodland Group and Hay Warren Trust, using traditional skills.

Bordering the popular Warren riverside meadow by the River Wye, the wall is thought to have been constructed in the late 17th/early 18th century, making it historically significant for Hay as well as being an important community and wildlife resource.

The wall is in a poor state, overgrown and collapsed in places; some of the original wall can be saved but other parts need a total rebuild. Volunteers from Hay Community Woodland Group will take down the wall, where necessary, after removing any overgrowth of brambles, bracken and nettles.

Local stonemason, Dai Davies, who is a specialist in dry stone walls and passionate about the project, will use existing stone and traditional methods to repair the remaining half of the wall. Using artisan skills, hundreds of years old, the wall will be rebuilt on re-set footings and topped with ‘cock & hen’ capping stones.

Old and traditional dry stone walls are good for supporting local wildlife including plants, lichens, small mammals, reptiles, nesting birds and insects. As the wall is rebuilt, a series of wildlife smoots (small tunnels) will be created at its base to allow wildlife to pass in and out of The Warren.

Phase One of the project has already rebuilt 65m of wall through funding from the Welsh Government’s ’Local Places for Nature’ grant plus donations, financial and work in kind, from generous local businesses and individuals. This has been facilitated by the Brecon Beacons National Park Local Nature Partnership and is one of five Local Nature Recovery sites.

Phase Two of the project will involve rebuilding the remaining 65m of wall, which it is estimated will cost £15,000 in total.

Jeff Morgan, a leading member of Hay Community Woodland Group, said: “The Warren is a riverside meadow bordered by the River Wye, it’s rich in flora and fauna, and enjoyed by many thousands of people every year. A donation will help secure this important asset for another 300+ years.”

To make a donation, please visit the Hay Warren Wall crowdfunding page at: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/donate-to-rebuild-the-hay-warren-wall and to volunteer with the group please contact Jeff Morgan - email [email protected]