OXFORDSHIRE’S wildlife trust has been given a cash boost to help it buy a meadow near Bicester.

The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust has been given £23,500 by the Heritage Lottery Fund for its Meadow Farm project.

Meadow Farm is an area of grassland to the east of Ambrosden that is home to wild flowers and other flora and fauna, which the trust is hoping to buy and unite with its neighbouring nature reserve, Upper Ray Meadows.

Chris Williams of BBOWT said: “Meadow Farm is a wonderful example of a precious and disappearing landscape.

“The colourful wild flowers at Meadow Farm show what the floodplain meadows east of Bicester used to be like.”

Over the next six months, BBOWT will be meeting with members of the community from surrounding villages to find out what sort of projects and events they want to be held at the meadow.

Stuart McLeod, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for south east England, said: “We are delighted to be giving our initial support to the Meadow Farm project.”

BBOWT spokesman Wendy Tobitt said the land had been offered to the trust by its owners and a fundraising appeal to finalise the sale of the land would be launched shortly.