A RARE native breed of cattle is to be reintroduced to a country park in an effort to boost wildlife at the site.

Essex County Council has announced plans to introduce Red Poll Cattle to Hadleigh Country Park in an attempt to improve the habitat.

Grassland in the park has become extremely overgrown due a lack of animals grazing on the site, making it increasingly inhospitable for local wildlife.

It is hoped the cattle, which are native to East Anglia, will forage on the land, increasing the likelihood of other types of wildlife thriving there.

The council is also holding a series of workshops with local residents to discuss additional ways in which the park can be improved.

A county council spokesman said: “There has been a gradual loss of open grassland to dense scrub on the downs since the end of traditional grazing in the middle of the last century.

“Grazing is acknowledged as the best method for managing semi-natural grassland as well as the most cost-effective and sustainable when compared to mowing. The cattle are ideally adapted to grazing on rough and scrubby vegetation.”

The decision comes after residents stressed the importance of improving wildlife at the park during a series of consultation meetings earlier this month over the future of the 2012 Olympic mountain bike track.

The park, one of the largest in Essex, spanning 387 acres, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, meaning it is a protected conservation area.

It comprises a mixture of woodland, pasture, hay meadow, marsh with old hedgerows and ponds, and grasslands which are rare in south Essex.

The workshops will take place at the Hadleigh Old Fire Station, in High Street, from 10am to 1pm on March 24 and from 6pm to 9pm on March 28.

To register for the event, visit www.hadleighgrasslandconsultation.dialoguebydesign.net