Local nature reserves

West Beach Local Nature Reserve

The West Beach was declared a Local Nature Reserve in 1995. 

The reserve is also part of the Climping Beach Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which has national protection. The reserve includes the sand dunes, vegetated shingle, sand flats and a small patch of saltmarsh.

The nature reserve is home to rare and protected wildlife, and has one of only two sand dune systems in West Sussex. 

You can read our West Beach management plan  [pdf] 1MB to find out how we look after the reserve.

Bersted Brooks Local Nature Reserve

Bersted Brooks Local Nature Reserve is a large countryside site, open to the public, on the edge of Bognor Regis. It is owned and managed by Arun District Council, in partnership with the Friends of Bersted Brooks, for wildlife and for quiet recreation. 

Bersted Brooks was declared a Local Nature Reserve in June 2010 in recognition of the importance of the site for wildlife. You will find wide areas of meadow, narrow reedbeds and ditches, permanent and temporary ponds, and an extensive newly planted floodplain woodland. The Brooks floods every winter, making it a good place for wetland wildlife.

There is an active Friends group involved in managing this special site for wildlife. They meet in the evening several times a year to decide what to do and they hold volunteer events out in the fields. If you would like to join the Friends of the Bersted Brooks or find out about the practical volunteer tasks, please contact our team.