A HEREFORD suburb near the banks of the River Wye is set to get a new community green.

Hunderton is one of 20 areas in the West Midlands that will benefit from a £2.2 million partnership between The Countryside Agency and the Big Lottery Fund.

A grant of £66,000 will enable the creation of the "Doorstep Green" next to a site of special scientific interest on the River Wye.

The project to create the recreational area will be run by volunteers with involvement from the community.

Elements of the scheme will involve the creation of facilities such as wildlife gardens, cycle routes, footpaths, river and canal side links, tree planting, seating and safe leisure areas for the very young and the very old.

Work on the site is expected to be finished by the end of the year and will also involve English Nature and the Rural Development Service.

The Doorstep Green initiative is part of a new move by the Countryside Agency to implement the Government's strategy for the countryside that was unveiled a year ago.

Elements of this include improving landscaping and recreational facilities, as well as improving access. The work also puts emphasis on opening areas of land that are derelict or waste for community use.

"Having leisure space is good for the health and wellbeing of all age groups.

"In addition, these projects are bringing together whole communities in creating something really beautiful and inclusive," said James Marshall, of the Countryside Agency's Doorstep Greens Project.

As well as the Doorstep Green in Hunderton, four sites are earmarked in Worcestershire and Shropshire, three in Staffordshire, Coventry and Warwickshire and five in urban Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Sandwell.