Support is growing for a bid to spruce up an “abandoned” plot in Petersfield that’s become a magnet for fly-tipping and drug taking.

A coalition of volunteers has come together with a view to breathing new life into a triangular patch of woodland between the community centre and Tor Way.

The plot owned by Hampshire County Council has heritage value as sidings that were part of the Petersfield to Midhurst branch line were previously on the site.

But it’s now overgrown and unwelcoming while its biodiversity has been threatened by the proliferation of Cherry laurel and its poisonous berries.

The good news is that a coalition led by the Hampshire Monday Group has come together with a view to removing the laurel over the winter period.

The removal is part of a greater “Love Lane Space for Nature” project to improve biodiversity and reduce anti-social behaviour at the site.

The clearance programme which involves the likes of the Petersfield Men’s Shed, Community Association, Love Lane residents and the Physic Garden’s head gardener, will allow more light into the woods and safeguard native tree species in a project backed by HCC, EHDC and the South Downs National Park Authority.

County councillor Russell Oppenheimer said habitat and biodiversity assessments could follow.

He added: “Once those assessments are done, consideration can be given to whether some limited access to the wood can be encouraged and facilitated in the future.”

Cllr Oppenheimer added that stakeholders would be consulted if remnants of the Midhurst line are unearthed during the winter programme.

Petersfield Town Council declined an offer to take over the site last September saying there was “little merit” amid concerns it could become a liability.

However, councillor Jamie Matthews suggested at the time that a community group could spruce it up.