The Memorial Meadow is an area of greenspace bounded by Welland Rd to the south, Humber St to the west, the playing fields to the north and housing off Thames Way to the east. This area of greenspace is identified and protected from future development and is an asset for the people of Hilton. The land is owned by SDDC and managed by Hilton Parish Council.

How we work together to manage this space is outlined in this agreement between South Derbyshire District Council and Hilton Parish Council.

The trees at the Memorial Meadow were planted by children of the village in 2012. It was planned as a place within Hilton where those from the parish who had died in First and Second World Wars and subsequent conflicts could be commemorated. This was to complement the war graves at Marston Church. Since then, the memorial area has been extended to provide space for the remembrance of local residents and pets.

The central part is reserved for the remembrance of servicemen from Hilton, Marston and Hoon. To the left and the right of the central area are spaces for the remembrance of local residents. There is also a small area reserved for the remembrance of pets.

We have a few simple rules to keep the asset an attractive place for quiet reflection which the community can enjoy and to fit in with the aim of working towards being designated as a nature reserve in the future.

If you wish to remember a loved with a plaque please contact clerk@hiltonparishcouncil.org.uk to arrange a plaque.

The Memorial Meadow Working Group, a sub-group of Hilton Parish Council, was formed in 2019 to look at ways of developing this area sympathetically keeping the aims of an emerging nature reserve in mind. Benches were put in place for people to sit and appreciate the area. This included a Peace bench at the centre of the Memorial Meadow.

Hilton's Neighbourhood Plan identified the importance of greenspaces to the residents of Hilton and in 2021 Hilton Parish Council commissioned Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to write a 25-year management plan for the Memorial Meadow. With the increasing importance of protecting and increasing biodiversity in Hilton and the wider environment this plan spread to cover the other greenspaces in Hilton safeguarded from future development. The management of these other greenspaces is evolving through work with South Derbyshire District Council's Biodiversity officer.

This link maps the different types of habitat that Derbyshire wildlife trust identified at the Memorial Meadow.

This link sets out how the different types of habitat can be maintained to increase the biodiversity of the Memorial Meadow for plants and invertebrates. This covers the trees, shrubs, wildflowers and grassland to be found here.

And finally this is the Appendix showing the baseline assessment that Derbyshire Wildlife Trust carried out of the different species of flowers, grasses and trees at the Memorial Meadow and the other protected greenspaces in Hilton. This will be returned to in future to help us to measure increases in biodiversity in the village greenspaces.

Information boards

To help people in Hilton to value and appreciate this greenspace, Hilton Parish Council commissioned 3 information boards for the Memorial Meadow to explain to residents what is growing there and how its management will increase biodiversity over time.