A NEWPORT park could become a nature reserve if council leader Bob Bright backs the idea.

St Julian’s Park, stretching 52 hectares from Beechwood to Caerleon and known locally as Purnell’s Farm, is popular with ramblers and dog walkers. It contains more than 300 species of plants and animals and has views across the city from the top of the sloping site. It includes an ancient woodland, grassland, and a freshwater stream.

Campaigners pushing for it to become a nature reserve hope they can protect and preserve the precious green habitat for both present users and future generations.

Following a public consultation, the council is now looking at whether they want to promote the idea, with the deadline for a decision extended from the beginning of June.

Questions raised by one resident have now been fully answered and no other objections have been submitted by either ward members or residents.

Councillor Bob Bright, leader of Newport City Council, will make a decision in due course. If he approves the proposal in principle, it will go to Natural Resources Wales for consultation.

One of the benefits of the designation would be to upgrade the status of the park and will give official recognition for its conservation value. It can also attract additional funding for management of this natural green space and improving legal rights of way.

Regular users of the park have been asked about the proposal and the Newport Biodiversity Partnership have informally discussed the designation.

However, if Natural Resources Wales agree with the designation, the public would also be consulted to give the opportunity for them to feed into future management proposal as well as provide expert local and specialised knowledge.

Ideas include promoting the health and recreational benefits of the park and encouraging schoolchildren to use it as an “outdoor classroom”.

The earliest reference to St Julian’s Park dates back to 1583 when it was described as medieval deer park. Its designation as a nature reserve would allow Newport City Council to access external funding to develop the park’s significant potential.

Areas within the proposed nature reserve will be clearly defined and will promote the park’s health and recreational benefits.

With the designation of the site as a local nature reserve, the park’s conservation value would be recognised and the council would have a statutory duty to manage and maintain the site.

Newport City Council also hopes to improve its green credentials as the city currently has just one local nature reserve with Cardiff and Torfaen both having four.