THURROCK Council's Ranger Service has carried out important conservation and access improvements at Coalhouse Fort, helping to restore valuable grassland habitats while making it easier for residents and visitors to enjoy the area's natural beauty.

The work has focused on protecting the natural environment around Coalhouse Fort Park and the nearby Mucking Flats Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Over time, areas of important grassland had become increasingly overgrown with scrub, reducing the open conditions needed by a range of plants, insects, and other wildlife.

At the same time, pathways through the protected area required maintenance to ensure visitors could continue to explore the countryside safely while minimising disturbance to sensitive habitats.

To address these challenges, the council's Ranger Service carried out a programme of habitat management and access improvements.

This included cutting and maintaining designated pathways through the SSSI and selectively removing encroaching goat willow scrub to help restore open grassland.

Rather than removing all the cut material from the site, some of the timber will be reused to create habitat piles, providing additional shelter for wildlife and supporting biodiversity.

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The work was carefully planned and timed to protect wildlife, sensitive habitats and the underlying Scheduled Monument, while allowing machinery to access the site safely.

The improvements mean visitors can now benefit from clearer, better-maintained paths, while helping to reduce pressure on sensitive areas and support the long-term protection of the site's nationally important habitats.