Dog ban plan for common

Dog walkers and ramblers could be banned from sections of a South Staffordshire beauty spot and their pets told to stay out of one of its pools, under new proposals revealed today.

A consultation has been launched about the future of Highgate Common Country Park, near Wombourne and Kinver, after it was taken over by the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.

The 95-acre park was designated a local nature reserve by Staffordshire County Council in 2007.

It has now emerged that some pathways on the common could be blocked off to make way for heathland to grow dogs stopped from jumping into one of the site's pools to allow wildlife to flourish.

Reserves manager Helen Gee said: "Our aim is to strike a balance between public enjoyment of the site and to make it a haven for wildlife too."