the South West of England Regional Development Agency, and Biffaward supplementing local fund-raising efforts with the centre finally opening in April 2008. The trust was one of the first to carry out garden wildlife surveys. One of these revealed the astonishingly rich flora that existed in Narroways, St Werburghs, an inner area of Bristol, and was used as part of a campaign against the use of of the hill as a storage depot for heavy equipment and lorry access for construction of the Avon Tramway. In 1991 campaigns to save Royate Hill in Bristol from development resulted in the first compulsory purchase of a wildlife site in England. In another Bristol campaign, the trust fought Bristol City Council against the extension of the quarry next to Ashton Court. In 1997 the trust bought Puxton Moor to prevent it being converted into a golf course and holiday resort. Other campaign have included preserving breeding space for skylarks at Hengrove Park. The oldest greater horseshoe bat ever recorded in Britain, "Boris", was discovered at Brown's Folly in January 2000. The mines themselves are of great speleological and historical interest. They are extremely well decorated and contain many delicate stalactites and examples of gull formation (caves features formed by landslippage). The mine provided stone for the facade of Buckingham palace. In 2000 access was unilaterally withdrawn pending the results of a mine inspectors report on the safety of the mines. This report was required because of the health and safety at work act which affects employees/volunteers of the trust who might have to enter the mine to count the bats. These legal requirements do not affect leisure access by cavers. Prior to 2000 access to the mine was controlled by the CSCC and cavers had coexisted with a thriving bat population with voluntary restrictions on the access during the bat roosting season. There is no evidence of caving activity adversely affecting the bat population. Since 2000 the trust has been a leading partner in the Avon Biodiversity Partnership which aims to create "A landscape rich in wildlife, where species and habitats are part of healthy, functioning ecosystems that are well-managed and valued by everyone; where conservation of biodiversity is integrated with social, cultural and economic activities". Each winter since 2000/2001 the trust has organised a birdwatch. Between 2000 and 2007 this demonstrated falls in the starling and sparrow populations, with great spotted woodpeckers