Responsibility for Belle Baulk Park in Towcester transfers from South Northants Council to Towcester Town Council later this year.

Nicholas Holder, 44, says the change is a great opportunity to develop the site as a nature reserve.

The park, which has a balance lake, attracts a variety of wildlife, with a number of protected bird species, including house sparrows, bullfinches and starlings, seen on the site.

Mr Holder – who is supported in his campaign by neighbour Caroline Bridle – said: "Within a 200sqm area you have got a balance lake, a river, an old railway line and fields, and each of these provides a good habitat for different types of wildlife.

"There are an awful lot of environmental habitats within a small area. Some of the wildlife is quite endangered like house sparrows and house martins, which people don't realise are in decline."

He said schoolchildren could be encouraged to take more of an active interest in the park through their school.

Mr Holder's suggestions include finding a wildlife expert to manage the site in an environmentally-friendly way, a general tidy up, and placing nest boxes and bat boxes around the park.

He also hopes to encourage interested residents to form a support group, which could come up with suggestions for ways of mantaining and developing the site.